Michinori College
by Serhian Tavanah
Summary: Kagome Higurashi has been accepted to a college, full scholarship, in America. She knows nobody and has only just met relatives she never knew she had...then she meets her dorm neighbors
1. Chapter 1

Michinori College

By: Serhian Tavanah

Chapter One:

Arrival

Kagome Higurashi's stomach churned as she stepped into the waiting lobby of the Fairway airport, feeling nauseous and slightly dizzy with nerves and sickness. Never before had she flown on a plane, and her first experience was nothing to be thrilled about. As soon as it had landed, she had concluded that she would never travel by plane again. Not if her life depended on it. It was bad enough when she discovered her air-sickness five minutes into the flight, but when the plane had hit such heavy turbulence, and Kagome thought it would plummet into the ocean, all she could think about was getting to her destination _alive_. Just thinking of having to take a possible flight home made her stomach do another series of flips and flops.

Aware of her fast-approaching sickness, Kagome hurried across the lobby towards the dull gray airport chairs set in rows before her. She could have collapsed then and there into one of the hard seats, but first she had to arrange her luggage. In collecting her items, Kagome had had to borrow a baggage cart in order to carry it all, and pulling the thing behind her wasn't an easy task. She hadn't intended to bring so much _stuff_; but in packing she could always find a reason to bring this or that, leaving her with four 1X2 ft leather bags and four rolling travel cases, almost triple the size of the bags.

Without a moment's hesitation, her anxiety making her move quickly, Kagome unloaded her luggage from the cart then rapidly walked it back to where she had first received it. Her footsteps were brisk and measured as she returned to her designated seat where she sat down with a small _thump_ and immediately began to arrange her luggage around her. She stopped moving only when she had finished creating something similar to a cubicle that shielded her from the airport around her. It somehow made her feel..._safer_.

After a moment of silently watching the crowds moving in front of her, she being half-hidden from their view by the luggage, Kagome's shoulders jumped as she realized what she _should_be doing. Reaching into the back pocket of her skinny-jeans, Kagome pulled out an old, worn photograph faded almost to the point that the picture of the man on the paper was almost unrecognizable. Glancing between the picture and the crowds Kagome searched for the uncle she had never met.

'This is impossible' she thought miserably as her eyes skittered across the many-colored faces in front of her, sometimes stopping to stare at the more unusual-looking Americans.

America. "Land of the free, home of the brave"; or so the advertisements said. She had never been until now, and so far she wasn't sure she liked it. It was incredibly strange seeing such a range of different kinds of people with skin colors varying from pasty white to ebony, and hair put up in the most insane styles and dyed in hues of purple, pink, blue, green, and red. It made her dizzy when she stared at one group with the mixture for too long. Not that she hadn't seen similar groups of people back in Japan, but they had never been so _diverse_ and in one area.

Moving her eyes away from the crowds to give them a break, and to keep from becoming sick, Kagome studied the photograph on her lap intently, her long black tresses falling past her shoulders to hide her face.

He was a middle-aged man, maybe older, with a few wrinkles on his face and a frown down-turning his mouth. His hair was a salted black and his eyes were a deep, dark-chocolate brown. He didn't seem like the kind of person who would laugh often, which made the bright, flowery T-shirt he wore seem very out-of-character. Even though she had never met the man, being such a people-person made it easy for Kagome to identify what kind of personality he had in three, simple words: Stiff, Stern, and Strict--the Triple S's that seemed to define the entirety of her father's side of the family. Not that her father had been such, or so her mother said. She didn't remember much about him other than faint memories and the way he always smelled of cigarettes--a past-time that had eventually killed him, when Kagome was eight, of lung cancer, just before her ninth birthday.

Sighing heavily, Kagome looked through her bangs to glance hopelessly at the swarm of people ahead of her, then looked back down at the photo.

_"Now Kagome, don't you forget that this is a _very _old photo of your uncle," _said her mother at the bottom steps of Higurashi Shrine, only moments before Kagome had departed for the airport. _"He might not look the same. Good luck!"_

Kagome's throat constricted and she groaned silently, folding her arms on her lap and bending forward until her forehead rested on her uppermost forearm. Horrible images of herself sitting alone in the unfamiliar building surrounded by unfamiliar for the rest of her life invaded her mind. Her nose tingled as she felt the coming of tears followed by the distinct heating of her face as she became unreasonably embarrassed. Scenarios of being left forever, eating out of the trash and begging for food and money flashed between equally frightening ideas of being kidnapped by some happy-faced criminal. Mostly, though, she thought of being stuck in the airport panhandling.

_'No, no Kagome that could _never_ happen,' _she told herself, _'the staff would definitely kick you out after a few days, and then you'd have to find your own way around--panhandling on the streets!'_

Kagome whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head as she slowly straightened. The action was meant to clear her head of the swiftly impending fear that tightened her chest, but all it seemed to do was make it worse as new ideas popped into her head including the realization that her English-speaking skills were very, very limited despite having spent almost half her high-school career learning it. Five years of not practicing the language did a lot to ones memory.

Sucking in a deep breath, Kagome pushed the hair back away from her face and opened her eyes and almost fell clean out of her seat, too surprised to speak.

He certainly wasn't tall for a kid who seemed around fifteen or so, hardly over four feet, who had bright blue eyes that seemed to capture every ounce of light emanating from the windows and fluorescent bulbs. Uncharacteristic to that of a teenage boy, Kagome could see that he had absolutely flawless skin; usually a boy his age would have at least one or two pimples. Even Souta got them every now and then. But he had clear, smooth skin with a slight olive tint and slightly pink cheeks. Then came his hair which was an unusual shade of reddish-brown that was pulled back in a ponytail that puffed was puffed into a ball. It was a beautiful color and Kagome couldn't help but feel slightly jealous. Although the small, blue, polka-dotted ribbon that held his hair up almost made her laugh as it was tied in a small bow that was neither too feminine nor masculine in any way. But the peculiarities didn't end there, but continued to the clothes he wore which consisted of a sea-blue T-shirt decorated in light blue leaves and baggy, elbow-length sleeves; a small, tawny vest; dark blue jeans with tears on the knees; and plain white sneakers.

"Hey," he said, raising a hand in greeting; smiling energetically.

_'He has dimples,' _Kagome thought, raising her hand awkwardly in reply.

"Are you Kagome Higurashi?" he asked, his voice slightly higher than the average teenager's, as though his voice hadn't yet broken; but his Japanese was perfect. Not that pitch of voice had anything to do with language-speaking skills, Kagome was just glad she didn't have to start speaking English.

"Yes," she nodded, "who...who are you?"

"Me? I'm your cousin, Shippo," he said, pointing at himself gleefully.

"My cousin?" Kagome said, surprise causing her jaw to drop and, once she realized what she'd done, snap it back up again; her cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

Shippo appeared not to have noticed, but instead bent and began snatching up her things. "That's right; I'm your uncle Masuyo's son come to pick you up."

_'What? Since when did _Masuyo _have a kid? I never heard about it! Not to mention he doesn't look like the kind of guy who would _want _children...' _Kagome shouted inwardly, rushing to her feet to grab what remained of her luggage; which wasn't much considering Shippo had already managed to take up most of it.

"Masuyo's outside waiting in the car, so we had better hurry; if we're late, he might pop us a good one!" Shippo laughed, hefting his collection of Kagome's baggage before heading in the general direction of the exits. "Well, that, or he'll just leave us; it all depends on his mood, really."

Kagome felt her stomach lurch as a brief spike of panic shot up her spine. "He won't seriously leave us, though, right?" she asked nervously, jogging after her new-found cousin.

"Well, he might; like I said, it all depends on his mood," Shippo replied; he was smiling as he said it, as though he were joking, yet his tone of voice suggested otherwise.

Swallowing a lump of fear, the twenty-two-year-old followed close after Shippo as they headed towards the exits of the Fairway airport, struggling under the weight of two travel cases dragging behind her and the leather bag over her shoulder. Although the objects were heavy, Kagome was sure she was having no trouble in comparison to Shippo who dragged the two remaining travel cases and three leather bags, which were slung over each shoulder and one around his neck. As she watched Shippo plod ahead under the weight Kagome couldn't help but feel guilty for not having gotten to that third back first. It looked terribly annoying hanging around his neck.

"Hey, Shippo," Kagome said suddenly, struggling to keep up with the teenage boy. "Why do you suppose I've never heard of you until now?"

"Hm..." he murmured, looking straight ahead. His smile had disappeared as he thought about the question, but as soon as he came up with an answer it was back again, stronger than ever. "Well, I guess it's probably because I've only been living with Masuyo and Chiaki for a couple of years. I'm adopted, you know."

"Oh, really?" she replied, following him through a pair of doors he opened with his foot. "Wait, hold on, who's Chiaki?"

Shippo gave her a somewhat surprised look before continuing on his way, "Chiaki is Masuyo's wife, my adopted mother."

Kagome was dumbstruck, but somehow she managed to continue following her cousin.

Since her plan to come to America unfolded, Kagome had discovered three new relatives she had never heard of let alone met and all of it had come about because of a whim. If she hadn't decided to pick up her brother from high school on that fateful day, and if she hadn't seen the scholarship applications in the office, and if she had decided not to apply just to see what would happen, she never would have come to this strange place. In some ways she wished that exactly that had happened, but there was no way to undo what she had done, and now she was in America because she had applied and been accepted for a full-scholarship to an American college on an insane whim. Even then, though, she might not have come, but the pressure from her family had been immense; though all Souta wanted was for her to bring him some souvenirs and her Grandpa for her to study up on American history. Her mother had been the only one to actually want her to go just for her education. Plus, a full scholarship was hard to come by, and it was so complete that all she had to pay for was the plane ticket and any necessities such as food and hygiene products that she would need. A very good deal for anybody.

But the main thing was that she was now in America, following a teenage boy who claimed to be her cousin, who would take her to her father's brother, where she would meet her new aunt, who would then take her to her new college and show her around the campus. At least that was what she had been told; soon she would find out whether all of it would happen or not.

Kagome suddenly stumbled and would have fallen had she not been pulling two travel cases behind her as a thought struck her. _'Wait a minute, how good can a stay in America be if my own uncle would leave his adopted son and his new niece alone in an airport just because he was in the _mood _for it? Who the hell did you send me to stay with, mom?'_

"Hey Kagome, don't fall behind!" Shippo called, looking back at her with one of his already-familiar smiles.

Kagome grinned back, if weakly, and trotted to catch up, avoiding the people around her with a new-found courage.

_'Don't you worry about me, Shippo,' _she thought, walking side-by-side with the teen, _'I won't fall behind; not in a million years!'_

"Oh me! You must be Kagome!" the woman cried cheerily, hopping energetically down the front porch steps, arms outstretched.

"Yes, I'm Kagome," she said, stiff as a board while the strange woman gave her a crushing hug.

After finding Masuyo sitting in the driver's seat of a black Mercedes, Kagome's anxiety had immediately heightened when she realized that Masuyo was exactly what his photo suggested: the Triple S's of the Higurashi Family. But that wasn't all; he was reserved as well, and had a constant tension around him, as though at any moment he might snap. It scared her, in a way, but nothing could have been worse that day than sitting in a car with her new uncle for two hours straight.

"Um...who are you?" Kagome asked nervously, somewhat ashamed that she had to ask.

"Oh me! I'm you're aunt Chiaki, dear!" she cried excitedly, literally bouncing up and down in her joy.

"Oh, uh, hello," Kagome stammered, her ears turning red when the woman suddenly stepped back and kissed her on the cheek. She had heard of the kissing-greetings that existed in America when close friends or relatives met, but she had no idea she would ever experience it first-hand. Now that she had, though, she wasn't so sure she liked it; a hug every now and then, she could handle. But a _kiss_? Not quite.

"Chiaki, take Kagome inside; Shippo and I will get her things," Masuyo said sourly from the trunk of the Mercedes, his voice steady as he pronounced each word and consonant carefully.

"Yes, dear, of course!" Chiaki exclaimed, seemingly unaffected by her husband's...irritation.

"See you inside, Kagome!" Shippo called, pulling out her belongings from the trunk.

As Kagome walked after Chiaki, she couldn't help wondering whether she had brought too much stuff after all; she had filled the entire trunk with her things.

"Oh, don't you worry about that, Kagome!" Chiaki said suddenly, making Kagome realize she had spoken her thoughts, "Whatever you don't need at college you can just leave here with us! It's no problem at all; anything we can do to help you we'll do it, you can count on that. You just have to concentrate on your school work and classes!"

"Thanks," the young woman said quietly, a small smile lifting her mouth.

Although Kagome knew Chiaki had to be at least forty or fifty, the woman gave nothing away about her true age, acting like a weathered twenty-year-old wearing a blue Japanese _kimono_decorated in white lilies and light brown sandals over pure white socks. Her hair gave away the only hints at her age, as it was slightly salted with white, however most of the discoloration was hidden by unnatural streaks of red and the way its entire length had been pulled into a complicated bun held in place by sky-blue chopsticks. Her eyes were also a bright blue, emphasized by the colors of her clothing, and her skin was unnaturally pale, although not unhealthily so, and showed only shadows of wrinkles around her mouth and eyes. It wasn't every day that Kagome saw a woman Chiaki's age in a kimono, and the sight was somewhat strange, however the clothing seemed to suit the older woman perfectly.

Kagome also noticed that Chiaki's ears were not pointed, but rounded like hers.

Following her aunt into the home of the American Higurashis, the first thing she noticed was the difference between the house's outside and its inside. Outside, where others around them could see it, the house looked completely natural, fitting in perfectly with its surrounding suburban houses with a trim, grass-filled yard, willow tree on the far right corner, and a small flowerbed near the house. Inside, however, it was very, very different.

Stepping into the house, Kagome felt as though she had stepped into the past of her Japanese heritage; or at least a museum. Either way, she couldn't help but feel incredibly at home as the entire inside of the house gave off an ancient, feudal era vibe.

Tatami mats covered certain places in the stead of wooden floors that stretched elsewhere, and sliding paper doors replaced those on hinges and made of fake wood. Textiles, calligraphy murals, _netsuke_, and _inro_lined the walls, and vases filled with brightly colored flower arrangements were placed atop small, ornate desks below each window, the bodies of each ceramic fragility decorated in delicate paintings. A porcelain doll collection spread across a small desk opposite Kagome displayed the small figurines wonderfully, their small, petite faces smiling at her in the most welcoming way. Through a doorway on Kagome's right she could even see what looked like a _katana_ assortment.

Everything Kagome saw in the house resembled anything from ancient, current, or traditional Japanese culture, and it was arranged in simple patterns. Nothing was in the slightest bit cluttered and it seemed like everything had a place. Even Chiaki fit into the arrangement, in her light blue kimono.

"What do you think, Kagome?" Chiaki asked, her chest swelling with pride at the wonder she saw on her niece's face.

"It...It's amazing," she gasped, reading the calligraphy murals with minimal difficulty, "Where did you get all this?"

"Oh, just places like eBay, mostly, and other online stores. The majority of it your uncle brought here straight from Japan; though some of it came here by illegal trading and the black market. But don't tell anyone!" Chiaki exclaimed, placing a playful finger to her lips, eyes twinkling.

Kagome couldn't help but smile at the woman's energy and automatically found herself feeling comfortable; it helped that she was in a house full of her culture.

She'd bet her last dollar that this would be heaven for Gramps; he'd probably have a story for every item in due time and if he couldn't find one no doubt he'd make one up.

"Come this way, Kagome, and don't forget to take off your shoes! You can put on those slippers on if you like," Chiaki said, smiling at the house around her.

Obeying with practice, Kagome slid her feet into the soft, blue slippers before following Chiaki further into the residence, looking about her in wonder. The place seemed much bigger than she had originally thought, but then that might have been due to the lack of clutter.

"Now Kagome, I know you have to live in the dorms at the college your freshman year, but you should know that on certain holidays the dorms are closed and nobody but those with special permission are allowed to stay. On those days, I want you to come back to live here until you absolutely have to go back." The woman said, leading Kagome down a small hallway decorated with dragons painted on very old, yellowing scrolls. "Oh, and we'll be checking up on you every now and then, and not only because your mother asked us to!" Kagome only nodded as she followed Chiaki only to nearly bump into the woman as she halted in front of a door at the end of the passage. "Okay, this room is a little rough around the edges because we were in a bit of a rush putting it together for you, so it might be a bit of a mess. I'm just warning you."

Chiaki slid the door open, and Kagome didn't bother to hold back the gasp that slipped past her lips as she walked through the doorway ahead of the woman.

It was almost an exact replica of her room back in Japan at the Higurashi Shrine. Albeit it was decorated differently in the style of the house, but overall it was almost completely the same. The furniture was the biggest difference, but with the addition of a high-speed computer the changes didn't bother Kagome in the slightest. The only computer she had had was an ancient 1995 Microsoft(R) imported from America when she was eighteen. It was slow and the white of the monitor had long-since faded to yellow, but it had worked while she needed it. Compared to her room back home, Kagome would dare say she liked this one better.

"So, what do you think?" Chiaki inquired unnecessarily, skipping into the room behind Kagome.

Every ounce of appreciation she had felt since meeting Chiaki, who had lifted the anxiety from Kagome's mind unknowingly, was portrayed as she threw her arms around her aunt.

"I think Kagome likes the room," Shippo said, walking in with a pile of Kagome's things in his arms.

"Um, thank you," she stammered to the two of them, releasing Chiaki and sitting on her new bed in slight embarrassment, her cheeks turning the same shade of pink as her bedspread.

"Oh no dear, thank you for coming! I can't tell you how boring it can get here in a house full of men!" Chiaki chuckled, thumping her hand playfully on Masuyo's back as he strode into the room, dragging behind him the remainder of Kagome's belongings.

The man merely grunted in response as he set his load on the carpet then walked back out.

_'His aura's so cold he could freeze Hawaii!' _Kagome thought bitterly, whatever happiness she had felt leaving with him.

Noticing the look on Kagome's face, Chiaki laughed sadly and patted the young adult's hair, "Oh me, don't mind him, Kagome, he's just shy!"

Kagome nodded in artificial acknowledgement and smiled thinly at Chiaki, _'Shy? More like an anti-social ass!'_

"Well then, we'll just leave you to settle down and unpack, shall we?" Chiaki suggested, turning to leave, "If you finish early, feel free to wander and explore, I'm sure you'll just love our garden, it's absolutely oriental! Now then, Shippo, let's let Kagome alone for a while; we eat at six, so we'll see you then, alright Kagome?"

Kagome grinned fully in response, and waiting until the two had left before letting herself fall back onto the bed, feeling unusually tired. Sitting up before she let herself fall unconscious, she looked around herself despondently, a feeling of homesickness washing over her. Her eyes pricked and Kagome slapped a hand over her face to keep from crying. Despite looking nearly identical to her room at home in Japan, the place was empty; nothing truly familiar surrounded her.

"Well then, let's make it familiar then!" Kagome cheered quietly, her spirits heightened by the atmosphere Chiaki had left in her wake.

Rolling up the sleeves of her thin, cream-colored turtleneck, Kagome set about removing everything from her suitcases and laying them out on the floor.

Not for the first time that day, or the last, Kagome thought _'I really thing I brought too much stuff.'_

Kagome sighed tiredly as she finished packing up the last of the items she would take to Michinori College. Even though she'd much rather just remain here, in this room so similar to her own, she knew she couldn't. The first year of college, just like Chiaki had pointed out, had to be spent at the college dorms whether she liked it or not.

Zipping up the front of one of her travel cases, Kagome got to her feet only to flop backwards on the bed behind her, exhaustion getting the better of her worn out legs.

It had taken Kagome the rest of the evening to unpack and reorganize her things the way she anted, and she hadn't even been close to finishing when dinner had come around. She had hoped that maybe it would only take a few hours to unpack, and after she could explore Chiaki's "positively oriental" garden. But the exploring would have to wait beyond tomorrow, as tomorrow she would be going to the college.

Now, well past midnight, Kagome was dog-tired beyond reason and only wanted to sleep.

Groaning in protestation, she got back to her feet, her bones creaking like an old woman's as she snatched some pajamas from a small dresser before entering into a small bathroom connected to her room. She showered quickly, dressed into the soft fabrics, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and removed her little makeup. Finished, she exited the historic bathroom and leapt back onto the bed, turning off the lamp before scrambling into the blankets.

Shuffling deep into the warm covers, Kagome stared at the floor where pale, striped shadows from the blinds in her window stood prominently on the floor. The moon cast a bluish pallor over the room, giving it a sensation of loneliness.

The depression and homesickness hit hard on her that instant, and every wretched thought she'd managed to keep at bay until now flooded into her mind at the sudden moment of weakness.

She worried about college on a completely different continent surrounded by completely different people who spoke a completely different language. She thought about what it would be like when Chiaki, Masuyo, and Shippo--who all spoke perfect English, she had noticed--were gone and she was alone in the dorms. She reflected on the reality that she had no friends in America, nobody to count on away from her relatives. Nobody to talk to. Once she was on campus, Kagome would be alone; and being alone was what frightened her the most.

Her stomach turned cold at the thought of being on her own around people she couldn't understand and didn't know. Of being alone. She wanted her friends, she wanted Japan, but she couldn't have them.

Pulling the pink blankets over her head, Kagome slowly fell asleep; her tears absorbed by the pillows that pressed against her face.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Tears

Inuyasha's motorbike roared to a stop as he pulled into the parking lot of the Shikon Jewel Store, his entire, black leather clad self contrasting greatly with the bright pink building and white cars in the surrounding parking spaces; being mostly large vans emblazoned with the store's logo.

The parking lot was completely empty of life except for him and the squirrel that occupied the cherry tree next to the building, it creating more noise than him as he jerked the key from the bike's ignition.

The engine immediately cut off and Inuyasha dismounted, removing his helmet as he went to reveal a black knit cap underneath. Placing the black cranial protection on the leather seat, Inuyasha turned about and headed toward the back of the store, white hair billowing behind him from underneath the cap.

Unlike the rest of the building, the back door was a pale shade of blue that displayed a battered sign reading clearly "EMLOYEES ONLY" in bold black letters.

Sifting through his keys he removed from the collection a small, slightly bent key covered in tiny scratches of which he shoved into the keyhole below the cheap doorknob. Twisting the slip of metal with a vigor that nearly broke it, he just as vigorously yanked it out and jerked the door open. It shut with a resounding slam behind him as he marched down a short hallway into a minuscule storage room. Although Inuyasha didn't work at this hour, he was still an employee and thought nothing of entering before his time.

Passing by the boxes full of cheap, shiny jewelry and assorted amount of souvenirs that lined every shelf along the walls Inuyasha stopped only when he had reached the back of the room where, below a small stack of bright pink boxes, a separate slat of black linoleum lifted to reveal the basement. Removing the boxes that blocked his path, the angry adult nearly ripped the slat from its place as he jerked it upward to reveal a set of cement stairs blackened by the many boots that had passed over them. As he began his descent he shut the basement door after him with a slam almost equally as loud as the noise that had iterated from the back door. He practically _flew_ down the steps as he entered into what was known as the Shikon no Tama Club; or simply the Shikon no Tama; or "The Club".

Even though the upstairs of the building looked quite natural, albeit the strange color, the downstairs was a completely different story and was where the Shikon Jewel Store became the Shikon no Tama Club, as afore mentioned. Its owner, Kaguya, had made the separate buildings in order to earn more cash than what would have been possible had she only stuck with the jewel store or the club. She had also figured that if she used only one building, cutting construction costs; added a sense of mystery to what resided in the basement; and only allowed a select few people to work and visit the bar, she would bring in more profit. As far as her employees knew, Kaguya made more revenue than anybody could imagine, and she wasn't a selfish being when it came to money. Since Kaguya was already quite rich with her later inheritance, her few employees received an even piece of the proceeds earned from both the club and the store, which was sent into their checking accounts. The extra pay didn't make them wealthy, but compared to other jobs the benefits were top-of-the-line.

Insurance included, among other things.

Jumping the last few steps, Inuyasha turned an immediate left and entered into the storage area reserved for the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, snacks, and replacement speakers--available in case those in use shorted out--of the Shikon no Tama Club. His sneakers creaking on the wooden floorboards, he crossed to the storeroom's swinging doors and pushed them open, walking into what was the core of the Shikon no Tama Club.

As it was closed during the day The Club was unusually quiet as he strode across dark-stained wooden flooring toward the stage. Larger than its honest half, the basement housed a full bar; poker, pool, and drinking tables; private rooms; an entire stage that included a backstage and dressing rooms; and separate bathrooms. Everything was arranged in neat order at the moment, however when the club opened there would be no such thing as organization and calm. At first, things would be relatively tranquil, however, once the members became drunk and reckless, the Shikon no Tama Club would become liken to a madhouse.

Ignoring the greeting of the girl cleaning glasses behind the bar, Inuyasha leapt the three foot climb onto the stage and flung the aside the curtains that blocked his path, planting himself amidst the commotion. The backstage staff was busy setting up for the night's entertainment which would consist of new bands trying to make a name playing in one of the most obscure bars in town, and for the most famous of entertainers who had managed to obtain membership. From what Inuyasha could see someone worthy of advanced backdrop and lighting would be appearing, but he didn't dwell long on that fact; his attention was focused on one thing and one thing alone.

"Kikyo!" he shouted, earning wary and curious glances from the crew before him.

Wearing a snug, pinstriped business suit and carrying a small black clipboard, her long black hair pulled back in a low-hanging ponytail, the woman in question turned from where she stood directing the lighting troop. Once, she had been immensely beautiful with flawless skin and laughing eyes, even if her mouth didn't; but that Kikyo had disappeared long ago. Drugs, gangs, and depression had sunken her once-full features, drawing shadows under her eyes, yellowing her teeth, and giving her skin a sick, pasty texture. Her already compressed mouth thinned into an indignant line as she saw who had called her.

"Inuyasha," she acknowledged, nodding in his direction before turning back to her task.

Gritting his teeth irritably, Inuyasha stalked across the stage toward Kikyo until he stood in front of her view of the lights.

"I need to talk to you," he said, suppressing his anger with difficulty.

"Now is hardly the time," Kikyo said, admonishing him with her dull brown eyes.

"Now is the perfect time," he retorted stiffly.

Sighing heavily as he moved in her way when she attempted to see around him, Kikyo turned and walked toward a man in a blue maintenance uniform.

"Clif, take care of the lights, I'll be back in a moment," she said, handing her clipboard to him.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

Giving Inuyasha a questioning look, Clif took Kikyo's place and immediately began directing the lighting crew, who continued their task with looks of apprehension, constantly sneaking glances at the two irritated beings in their midst. Meanwhile, Kikyo led Inuyasha off-stage and into one of the many dressing rooms where it was quiet and clear of anybody who would watch and listen to them talk.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" the pale woman snapped, whirling to face him; her black hair smacking his leather jacket as she turned.

Inuyasha didn't answer immediately, finding a strange sense of calm as he studied the face of the woman he had cared so much about, feelings of disappointment and resentment swirling in his gut. "I talked to Kaede earlier."

Kikyo raised an eyebrow when he didn't continue immediately, his sudden calm piquing her interest despite her previous annoyance. "Should it bother me that you speak with my sister?"

A small growl escaped Inuyasha as his self-control wavered and reached its limit, "You were with Hiten and Monten again last night! What were you thinking? You said you wouldn't do it anymore!" he shouted, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her violently; as if that would put at least a small dose of sense into the solemn woman.

Kikyo waited until Inuyasha had stopped rattling her before she spoke, her dull eyes hardening with defiance as she lifted his hands from her shoulders, her fingernails digging into his wrists. "You are not my supervisor, Inuyasha; I am an adult; I have a right to do what I please when I please. What you think doesn't concern me."

Inuyasha winced, but not because of the sharp, burning feeling coming from her nails as they pierced his skin. All of his anger dimmed to a half-living flame as he looked at her with heartrending amber eyes. Her words had stung, but they hadn't hurt as much as why she was saying them. He'd watched her change, watched her become addicted to drugs, wondered who had given them to her in the beginning, watched her as she became enthralled with a life of violence and alcohol, unable to stop it. He'd tried numerous times, but had failed in each attempt; now here they were.

"Kikyo...what _happened_ to you?" he asked, his eyes dropping to the ground momentarily before returning to her hardened gaze. "What made you...change?"

Kikyo laughed; a tinkling noise that seemed somehow eerie coming from her drug-mottled body; her yellow teeth flashed in the fluorescent lights. "People change, Inuyasha; surely you, of all people, must know _that_."

Inuyasha said nothing, just continued to stare into her feverish eyes.

"Come now, don't look at me with those eyes," she said playfully, her gaze sharpening into angry knives.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth and kept looking, trying to keep himself under control.

"Stop it, Inuyasha, that's enough." she said finally, her voice strained and empty of any condescending laughter.

His hands fisted and his arms pressed against his sides, but he continued to stare.

"I said stop it!" Kikyo shouted, placing her hands on his chest and shoving with what little strength she had.

Inuyasha was forced to take a step back, but he automatically regained that step; and didn't stop there. Seizing her shoulders once again, he pressed her against one of the dressing room walls, pinning her there with his grip. She attempted to break free, and snapped at him to release her, but her protests were cut short as he kissed her. It both surprised and pleased Kikyo, but she did not close her eyes and neither did Inuyasha. It was an angry kiss, and they glared at each other through its duration.

The contact lasted mere seconds, yet it seemed like hours before Inuyasha took a step back. He had a reproachful look in his eyes--prepared to take any scolding Kikyo had to deliver.

But what she said wasn't what he expected.

"We're through, Inuyasha." she said, looking down on him even though he was taller than she.

Inuyasha blinked stupidly, and during the time it took for the sentence to register in his unprepared mind was the time Kikyo took in escaping him and heading for the exit.

"I did love you, Inuyasha," she said, pausing briefly as he turned to question her words. "But that time has passed; this is when we say goodbye. Forever. I have turned in my resignation form to Kaguya; this is the last time we will see each other. Goodbye, Inuyasha."

Kikyo left in the silence she had instituted on the young adult, neither happy nor sad at what she had done to him...just...indifferent.

Inuyasha watched her go, and when the door shut behind her he swung his fist and sank it slightly into the metal frame of a dressing stall, denting the thin metal. He didn't know what to think or feel or what he should do. Should he go after her, stop her, plead with her to stay with him? Even though it was already hard to bear the time he had had to spend with her lately at work? He punched the metal again; deepening the wound he had already made while the one Kikyo had made on him festered and began to burn.

He didn't leave the dressing room.

Inuyasha pulled into the parking lot of the C-dorms, his expression one of anger--the same in which he had worn in leaving the dorms--while inside he felt nothing as he snatched the key from the ignition. Running a chain through the front wheel and securing it to a lamp-post nearby him then tucked his helmet under his arm and headed straight for the building's entrance.

College classes began the day after tomorrow, so only a few students had arrived as of yet; but those few quickly got of his way when they saw the look on his face.

The scowl was much like a mask as he wore it only to keep the people around him from speaking to him when he was irate or confused, or when he just didn't feel like engaging in conversation--which was most always. But the sudden break up with Kikyo had left him empty, bank; he didn't know what he should think or feel; and it was times like this that his mask of anger became incredibly useful.

He knew he should feel something along the lines of miserable and shocked, or angry and vengeful, he just couldn't seem to conjure the emotions. Perhaps he had more demon in him than he had originally thought. Or was there really something wrong with him, like Kikyo and many others had hinted so many times before? Either way, the scowl proved useful in more ways than one.

Shaking his head half-heartedly, Inuyasha ran up the stairs towards the second level of the building. Normally he would have taken the old elevator that opened on all floors save the fourth, but he didn't want to risk running into Sango or Miroku; or anybody else he knew, for that matter.

Besides, the stairs were faster--at least for him.

He nearly ripped the second floor door off its hinges as he opened it, and then nearly splintered the wood when he slammed it behind him. The wall shook with the force, and the heads of the few walking the halls momentarily looked his way before averting their eyes seconds later.

Although he _felt_ nothing, his body was reacting to what Kikyo had said, portraying the anger and hurt he should have been experiences as a dark aura that warded off the people around him. The halls were soon empty as the occupants hid in their rooms, avoiding Inuyasha purely by instinct. They certainly knew _who_ he was, most everybody did, but they would never know _what_ he was. Nobody knew that except for a select few like, unfortunately, Kikyo who had found out on accident; and Sango and Miroku who he had specifically informed.

Upon reaching his dorm room door, Inuyasha shoved the key into the hole and with a force that should have torn off the doorknob he entered his assigned dorm room. Throwing the door shut behind him, Inuyasha suddenly felt his knees give way, his hands releasing his ring of keys at the same moment his helmet slipped from beneath his arm. Both items crashed to the floor with a mute clatter as he fell backwards against the door, his back sliding down the length of fake wood until he sat with his knees almost level with his eyes. He tried to move, but couldn't; he was barely able to twitch his fingers let alone get to his feet.

As he sat, unable to move, he suddenly realized his cheeks were wet.

Managing to lift an arm, he touched the wetness; following the trail upwards with his fingers until he brushed his eyelashes. It was only then that he comprehended he was _crying_. In the pit of his stomach emotions of embarrassment and horror swirled, trying to bring to reality that _Inuyasha_ **couldn't** _cry_; it just wasn't possible--wasn't _right_.

Youkai, even half-breeds like himself, didn't _cry_. Especially not over such a trivial thing as a break-up with a _human_ _girl_...right? He'd already stopped loving her completely when she started hanging around with Hiten and Monten, hadn't he? So why did it hurt so much that they had finally ended it? That _she_ had finally ended it?

It just didn't make sense.

Yet the tears kept coming, trickling down his cheeks to his chin where they dripped and landed on his leather jacket.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Inuyasha balled his fists and banged his head purposefully against the door behind him, as though trying to knock the tears from his eyes.

Clenching his jaw, Inuyasha suddenly felt very tired as his emotions finally began to drain, leaving him an empty shell. As he slid across the door to land on his side, he vowed never to become so vulnerable again. He would rather die alone than shed another tear.

Landing on his side on the dull gray carpet, Inuyasha opened his eyes once to look out the window above the kitchen sink before closing them again, light spots dancing behind his lids as he let sleep get the better of his senses.

He didn't dream.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Her conjured images of a dark and dreary haunted mansion-like school building occupied by only English speaking Americans could not have been further from reality than what stood in front of her. From her vantage point across the street, Kagome could easily see the bright green lawns that stretched forever around the campus; the full-groan willow, pine, oak, and cherry trees creating a colorful picture before the great golden building; and an 80% population of Japanese-speaking students whose chatter reached her even at her distance. With a name like "Michinori" College, Kagome should have known that there would be so many Japanese attendees; but then again, the Americans had always seemed to have a strange sense of humor.

Her relief was indescribable as she realized her fears had been proven unfounded.

"Wow Kagome, you're going to school _here_?" Shippo breathed, sprinting across the street.

Kagome smiled "I suppose I am," she said, cheered to a point where not even Masuyo's solemn aura could dampen her mood.

"Come along Kagome, we have to get your books and schedule and room and, and, and all the other stuff you need! Come on Kagome!" Chiaki cried; literally bouncing as she took Kagome's arm and pulled her toward the wondrous building.

"I'm coming, aunt Chiaki, I'm coming!" Kagome laughed.

"I'll wait here," Masuyo said dimly, leaning against his Mercedes.

"As you wish, dear, as you wish. Now hurry Kagome! Oh me! I'm so excited!" Chiaki exclaimed.

"This is so cool Kagome!" Shippo agreed, jogging next to them as they headed toward what looked like the college's main entrance.

The college-bound adult said nothing but concentrated on keeping her footing as they tumbled across the emerald lawn, trying to maintain some semblance of balance as Chiaki dragged her through the glass doors of the college's entrance. They were all smiling as they entered Michinori College, but of a sudden Chiaki and Shippo--who had continued to chatter unceasingly--became silent.

Kagome was unable to control a sneaking emotion of nervousness as they strode directly to their right where a dull gray door supporting a sign reading "OFFICE" stood. As she took the chance to look around while she could Kagome discovered that currently the halls were relatively empty, very clean, and extremely organized with gray trash cans stationed at every corner. She also saw a few students wandering the halls before disappearing through the office door, and those who saw her gave her an acknowledging nod and curious gaze. She was glad they didn't stare or follow them, even though she could see they wanted to.

Her view of the school was immediately cut short as she was pulled through the door and into an even more sullen atmosphere typical to the common school office. It was a tense place that smelled of paper, computers, electricity, and long hours worked to keep the college running. It was somewhat frightening with its gray carpet, white walls, and spotless counters. Everything was arranged neatly and it was obvious this was the place where the ruling leaders of Michinori College spent their time.

"Rin, Rin! I have a new student for you! Rin!" Chiaki called out excitedly, startling Kagome out of her reverie.

"I would appreciate it, Mrs. Higurashi, if you didn't make so much noise," a man said, coming from down a short hallway to Kagome's left, carrying a large manila folder loosely in his left arm.

She almost gasped at what she saw, suppressing the sound of astonishment with difficulty as she stared openly.

He was a tall Japanese man with flowing silver hair pulled back in a high, prominent ponytail atop his head and held in place by a deep purple ribbon. With incredible, expressionless golden eyes that glared at them from behind silver bangs, they weren't the only features that caught Kagome's attention. Set in the pale pallor of his smooth face, there were five tattoos. On either cheek resided two tattoos in the form of purple stripes that began at his hairline above his ears and ended before the corners of his piercing eyes, the lower stripes slightly longer than their upper counterparts. The fifth tattoo was situated on the center of his forehead, almost completely hidden by his silver bangs, and of which took the form of a purple crescent moon. He wore a crisp black suit that complimented his albino features and was starched to perfection; as far as Kagome could tell there wasn't a single wrinkle in the pressed fabric--it was a wonder he could even move. Overall he was flawless and perfect and Kagome wondered what it would be like if he smiled--at the moment, it didn't look like he committed that crime very often. For some reason, Kagome found herself feeling suddenly afraid of ever witnessing the malformation of a grin on the man's face as it abruptly seemed like a very dangerous thing.

Shaking her head to clear such thoughts from her mind, appalled that she was thinking badly of a _smile_, Kagome finally noticed his ears. They were like Shippo and Masuyo's ears; however they seemed to be more pointed; more prominent than her relatives'. Then Kagome almost laughed when she noticed the reddish-purple eye shadow, but caught herself when they only seemed to enhance the burning cold of his eyes.

"Ah, Sesshoumaru," Chiaki said cheerfully, slamming her hands palm-down on the desk. "Where's Rin? Surely _you_ of all people must know where _she_ is?"

"Rin is not here," he replied in a cool voice, his eyes glancing briefly at Kagome; who felt her cheeks warm slightly at the acknowledgment.

He was handsome--no, gorgeous--that much was certain, but there was no way in hell Kagome would ever think of attempting to date him. Not only did he work at her college and that would be just wrong, but there was just something about him that made her want to curl into a ball and weep. When she realized this, Kagome gave herself a mental kick. She shouldn't be thinking about stuff like _that_ either! Especially when she was here merely to receive her college necessities.

"Oh me, that's too bad! I so wanted her to meet my niece, Kagome, but I suppose it will have to wait," Chiaki sighed heavily, a fleeting look of disappointment crossing over her normally happy features.

When Chiaki did no leave, Kagome barely caught a look of annoyance as it sped across Sesshoumaru's face.

"What is it you need, Chiaki? I'm quite busy right now," Sesshoumaru said, placing the manila folder he had been carrying pointedly on the counter before him. If his voice were a liquid, Kagome was sure it would be nothing less than the most potent of acids.

Chiaki looked contemplatively at Sesshoumaru for a time, her right forefinger tapping her chin before grinning in a way clearly meant she had made up her mind. "Oh, I _suppose_ you'll do. I need to get a room for Kagome, she's on scholarship, you know, and it's such a _hassle_ to go through mail and legalities and such just to get her a room at one of the dorms; so I was wondering if maybe Rin could help me. But I suppose I'll have to come back later...unless you might be of some help...?"

Sesshoumaru blinked slowly before acting on the hint and snatching the folder up again as he headed back the way he'd come. "This way," he said over his shoulder.

Chiaki gave Kagome a triumphant look before taking her hand again and heading off after the man whose solemn aura reminded Kagome of her uncle, if colder and more in control. The excitable woman practically _skipped_ down the hall after him.

"Oh thank you very much Sesshoumaru! You know, without you I would have had no idea what to do! Thank you very much for your kindly offer!" she chattered.

_'He didn't exactly _offer _to help, aunt Chiaki...you sort of..._made _him,' _Kagome thought but didn't say, following Chiaki into an office. _'Somehow.'_

As they entered the room, Kagome glanced at a silver plaque hanging on the door and was surprised to see that it read "_VICE PRINCIPAL _SESSHOUMARU". With such a cold and emotionless appearance, she would have bet her last dollar that he had been the big kahuna himself.

Surprised by the fact that he was not in fact the head honcho, Kagome's thoughts were immediately cut off by the first sight she laid her eyes on.

At first she only saw the two Japanese swords hanging on the wall, the lower being broader and having a straighter blade than the traditional katana above it. Below the swords was a large, glass tank containing a bottom full of brown and tawny pebbles, and a large slab of driftwood. But it wasn't the swords or the tank itself that caught her attention, it was what resided behind the stretch of glass that made her scream and stumble backwards, bonking her head on the door as it closed behind her.

Kagome scrabbled at the doorknob in order to get out of the room, anxious to leave behind the brownish-green creature that occupied the tank.

"Goodness me, Kagome, what on earth are you doing?" Chiaki called, rushing to the young adult and pulling her from the door.

"A...a...a monster!" she squeaked, hiding behind Chiaki, eyes squeezed shut.

"Monster," Chiaki murmured, then laughed as she realized what had frightened girl had meant. "Oh, dear, you must mean AhUn! They're not monsters; they're just a two-headed lizard Sesshoumaru keeps in his office!"

"T-two h-headed l-l-lizard?" Kagome stuttered, quivering from her surprise. Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment as she straightened to get a clearer look of the odd animal.

Chiaki opened her mouth to speak, but was immediately cut off by the high, squeaky voice of a little man who entered the room with a flourish, carrying a freakish staff topped with two heads, one of which was a white-haired old man with a white beard and the other a black haired woman.

The little man had short, moss-green hair and horrid, green-tinted skin that looked like he'd died the week before only to find himself still living. The whites of his eyes were a sickly yellow as well as his irises, and the large peepers seeming too big for his too small head. He had a lipless mouth, a very pointy nose, and sharp nails. He wore a blue suit too big for his minute body and had no eyebrows. He, too, like so many others she had seen, had pointed ears.

"Toad!" Kagome choked, biting her thumb to keep from laughing.

Distracted from his mission, the small man rounded on Kagome and stared at her with his eyes that seemed as though they would pop out of his head at any moment.

"Toad? Toad! How dare you call me a toad! I am Jaken! Fear the power of my Staff of Heads you impudent human brat!" he screamed, rushing Kagome with his staff held high.

Raising the gnarled stick with a vengeance, meaning to hit the adult with it, he was immediately stopped by a blue blur that flew forward and collided with the little man.

"You lousy imp! Don't you dare threaten Kagome like that!" Shippou shouted, grabbing the staff and whirling it and the man attached to it out the door. "That'll teach you!"

Slamming the door behind him, Kagome--who hadn't realized Shippo was still there, he'd been so quiet--could hear her cousin as he chased the toad-like man in the hallway.

"Mrs. Higurashi," Sesshoumaru said as the voices faded away, bringing the two women back to attention.

"Oh dear me, dear me; I'm so very sorry Sesshoumaru, very sorry. I hope this doesn't change your mind about helping us out...?" Chiaki said, appearing to be on the verge of tears as she wrung her hands in anxiety; an emotion Kagome hadn't thought the woman capable of.

"Here is the assigned room for one Higurashi, Kagome," he said, ignoring the woman's pitiful expression. "Her books are in the room and ready for her use, and her schedule is in this folder," he added, reaching into a filing drawer and pulling out a blue folder near bursting with multicolored papers. Handing it to Chiaki, he finished by saying "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get some work done before our principal returns."

Taking her cue, Chiaki gave Sesshoumaru graceless thanks before leading Kagome back out of the office and onward until they had exited the building where her typical chatterbox self re-awakened as she rifled through the papers.

"Well then, isn't our vice principal such a_ nice _man?" she said, removing a plastic bag containing a room number and silver key.

"Uh, sure," Kagome replied, shrugging; how her mood had changed in only a few seconds, going from cheerful straight down to a nervous wreck again.

"Now then, we just have to find your room. Let's see, the tag says 103C, so that means you're in the C building over...there!" Chiaki squealed happily. Her finger waggled sporadically at a white-walled, four story building to their right. "Come along then, Kagome, we _must _get you settled!"

Darting ahead, Chiaki ran to were Masuyo still leaned against his Mercedes. Waving her hands wildly, she motioned first at Kagome then at the C building and back and, somehow understanding her meaning, he nodded and slipped into the driver's seat. As Chiaki skipped back to where Kagome stood, Masuyo started the engine of his car and drove off; heading toward the building where Kagome would be living for a full year of American college.

"Kagome, Kagome! I found it! Over here!" Shippo shouted, waving his hands wildly over his head.

"Good work Shippo!" Chiaki shrieked, bounding over to the redheaded boy and giving him a bear hug.

Despite the campus being practically empty, the hallways of the dorm building were overcrowded with new students and their families with more filing in every second. Bodies were packed together like bricks and the swarm moved about as fast as a snail on steroids. So as Kagome attempted to reach the place where her cousin and aunt struggled to stay in place, trying to open the door, it was like trying to move through several tons of cement.

As she waded through the crowd to her relatives, just as she had almost reached them a door across the hall from what would be her room opened. All Kagome saw before the door shut immediately afterwards was a swirl of white hair that reminded her oddly of Vice Principal Sesshoumaru...

Shaking her head, Kagome dove through a break in the crowds and through her open door. After skidding to a stop she turned and quickly shut the entry, dimming the blare of noise coming from the overcrowded hallways. The completion of her task then brought her to examine her surroundings. Briefly she wondered where her relatives had disappeared to, but she was soon caught up in examining her new "home" to dwell much on the thought.

The first room of which she stood was a blend between a living room and a kitchen, separated by a mere length of counter. There was no furniture other than the necessities. In the kitchen she could see an oven, a microwave, an old blender, a very small fridge, and an even smaller dishwasher. The living room contained only a gray loveseat and circular table set ahead of the couch; there was even a small television hanging loosely on the wall, but Kagome doubted its workability.

Deciding first to check out the kitchen she started with the fridge which she discovered to contain an incredible amount of foodstuffs she could use for a variety of meals. Then, as she searched the cupboards and drawers, she found silverware, pots, pans, and other necessities like plates and bowls. As soon as she finished, she turned her attentions to the rest of the house.

Walking down a short hallway next to the television, she found two doors one on each wall. Upon opening the door on her right, she revealed a bathroom fixed with a toilet, sink, small closet, two cabinets, three drawers, and a stand-up shower, no tub. The absence of a bathtub saddened Kagome at not being able to take a bath as often as she liked; which was more often than she had ever taken a shower. When she opened the cabinets and drawers she noticed that, like the kitchen, it was full of anything she could possibly need including a store of toothpaste, several toothbrushes, toilet paper, towels, and other feminine products. She also found a first aid kit tucked away at the back of one of the cabinets.

Exiting the bathroom with a small smile on her face, she turned to the other door.

It was obviously supposed to be a bedroom including a small bed, an even smaller desk, and a large window that took up almost the entirety of the far wall. But upon entering the bedroom, Kagome didn't have much time to study where she would be spending most of her time as she discovered where Chiaki, Masuyo, and Shippo had gone.

"Surprise!" Shippo and Chiaki shouted simultaneously, pulling the strings of paper fireworks and spraying piles of confetti onto Kagome.

Falling backwards onto the floor in her surprise, Kagome soon found herself laughing nonstop as she allowed the grim Masuyo to help her to her feet, tears beginning to prick her eyes.

"Welcome to your new dorm room! It's co-ed, I might add, and you get your own room, no roommates, nothing! Welcome, Kagome Higurashi, to Dorm Room 103C!" Chiaki cheered, throwing her arms around the shocked adult in a massive bear hug.

"Thank you," Kagome said; her cheeks and ears burning bright with excitement as she accepted a party hat and firework from Masuyo.

"We're going to party all night and not wake up until it's Kagome's second day in dorm building C!" Shippo shouted.

Kagome couldn't help but laugh and cheer with Shippo, too happy to worry.

It was well past midnight by the time Kagome's relatives left for the night, and she was exhausted. The dorm room was very quiet in the absence of her rowdy cousin and aunt, and to banish the silence Kagome switched on the television; surprisingly, it worked. Flipping it onto a nature channel she had a hard time understanding a single word on the program as the narrator spoke in English. She wasn't in Japan anymore, that much was certain, and English speaking programs were just something she'd have to get used to. Who knows, maybe it will help her better her speech.

Yawning widely as she began to unpack her belongings, she was just glad she didn't have to clean up the mess that had remained when their party had lulled. Chiaki had taken care of that.

It was much faster unpacking the second time around as most of her things were back at her aunt and uncle's home so, once she finished, she found some night clothes and, after a brief shower, dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, then practically ran across her cold apartment to her bed.

Once settled, Kagome found herself gazing at the floor in much the same manner as she had back at the American Higurashi's home. The zebra stripes on this floor were much larger due to the size of the window, but the concept of the stripes had changed. No longer were they bars meant to lock her in a place she was sure she didn't belong, but instead they symbolized a ladder; a ladder that, no matter what, she was going to climb.

Straight to the top.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Inuyasha knew something was wrong the moment he drifted to conscious; his first hint being that he was curled into a ball in front of his door with his whole right arm numb from its place under his head.

The second clue came from the salty crustiness of his cheeks and eyes followed by the sensation of an incredible weight on his torso with the focus centered on his chest. It confused him since for as long as he could remember he'd never experienced anything quite like what he was experiencing right then.

Shaking his head to clear the drowsiness that still shadowed his thought processes--no matter how dim they might appear--and pushed himself upright into a sitting position, his arm curled close to his side as it began to tingle and feel very cold while the blood rushed to restore proper circulation. It hurt and as he drew his legs up, putting himself in the same position he'd been when he was last awake, he let it fall limply. Then, once as he'd positioned himself, he glanced at his watch and discovered the day to be Thursday, 23 August, 7:09 am. Judging by the time his watch told, he'd been asleep the entire rest of yesterday as well as the whole night and most of the morning. The grogginess of sleeping too much was already starting to get to him.

Sucking in a deep breath Inuyasha prepared to rise and cook himself something to eat when reality slogged back into his mind and he finally remembered _why_ he had woken so strangely. He wished he could have just left remembrance where it had come.

His head made a hollow_ bonk _as it fell back against the wood behind him, and he distracted himself from the dull pain it caused by staring at the ceiling. He saw nothing as he looked, and mere staring couldn't possibly distract him from the reason why his eyes felt so crusty and why his chest hurt so much. It made him feel pathetic, especially when he started to feel the urge to cry again.

However, utter determination and time soon dried up the need; he would _not_ cry again. Never again would he put himself through the humiliation. Even if it killed him.

But even as he fended off the need to cry, depression threatened to overtake him in its place and he immediately started on keeping himself from reaching such a miserable point. A demon, even a half-demon like himself, _never_ cried let alone let themselves fall into a _depression_ and Inuyasha utterly refused to let himself break that record. Besides, why should he even _care_ that, even though he had already accepted the youkai hated and spurned him, the humans did too? It was only natural. After all, instinct always won over the decisions made by every species, and instinct ultimately dictated that the demons would get rid of the weak and the humans would avoid the extreme powerful, the predators. It was Darwinism all over again; God had nothing to do with it.

After a moment of desperate debate to keep away the tears and ward of the depression, Inuyasha finally moved in his unappreciated victory to his feet. It was a weak resolution, but he would _not _let Kikyo get to him; or anyone else, for that matter. He'd had too much bad luck with women, whether they were human or youkai, and now that Kikyo--the girl he had been sure was "the one"--had dumped him he was positive he would find no one. He'd had it. He wasn't going to put up with being left in the dust again if he had anything to say about it.

And he certainly wasn't going to _cry_ ever again, either.

He'd had enough.

No more.

The hot water did well in clearing Inuyasha's head, and it also got rid of any evidence that he'd been crying by not only erasing the trails, but the scent along with it. It was like "killing two birds with one stone" to say the least, and after his shower he dressed into a plain, dark blue T-shirt; faded black jeans with tears in the knees; and clean socks. It was a kind of relief to get out of the stiff black leather he had woke wearing; movement was much easier without it. Not to mention it helped relieve the pressure on his chest.

Exiting the bathroom, carrying his knit cap in one hand, he strode into his pitiable excuse for a kitchen and searched the fridge and every cupboard until he found something appealing to eat. That "something" happening to be a banana and spoon full of peanut butter which quickly reminded him that he needed to do some shopping if he were to survive the next year of college.

As he slipped the cap over his head the adult strode lazily to his gray loveseat and sat with a heavy thump after which he snagged the remote from the coffee table in front of him and flipped on the television. He planned on doing nothing today, and he enforced his resolution by settling on an old western movie then slumping against his seat. The program was in English, like every other channel except for the few in Spanish and one in French, but this didn't bother Inuyasha like most Michinori College students for two reasons.

The first being that the only reason he was even watching the Americans shoot each other while riding horseback was he just needed something to distract himself from the roiling in his stomach. Not to mention it was somewhat entertaining.

The second was that he understood English; after living in an American society for fifteen years, anybody would. The language kind of catches on.

Drumming his fingers on the armrest as he watched the Sheriff die and Paden walk off Scot-free; Inuyasha's evening was suddenly interrupted by the banging and clanging of one thing or another outside his dorm room. At first, he just ignored it, preferring to watch the commercial that followed Emmett and Jake as they rode off into the distance. But as the commercial switched back to the movie and the credits as they advertised the next program, the sounds of shuffling and running feet increased and he began to feel curious despite himself. However when he got up he didn't go to the door, but to the fridge where he pulled out a lite beer before heading back to the couch.

He didn't usually drink; after all, the only reason he even had alcohol was because of Miroku and Sango and the fact they had left it in his fridge. But today and now was a special situation. Of course he wouldn't drink much, even his brother could hardly handle a whole bottle of alcohol, and he would just get enough in his system to distract him from the noise outside. He didn't want to look out and be seen; especially now in the state he was in.

Flicking the lid off the beer with a quick swipe of his thumbnail, Inuyasha took only a small sip as he settled back to watch Mr. McLintock ride horseback into the train station.

Yet even as the movie continued, and even as his senses became more and more dulled by the power of lite beer, the sound outside his room persisted and grew increasingly annoying and intriguing. It was to be expected that he would eventually rise to investigate, and rise he did exactly half an hour after the beginning of the new movie. He staggered slightly as he did so, but that didn't change the fact he _had_ to find out what was going on.

As he opened the door to the loud shouts of a boy Inuyasha was sure wouldn't be going to college for the next few years, he adjusted his cap only briefly before jerking the door towards him then back shut again. He only caught a glimpse of what was occurring outside his small, pathetic haven; but a glimpse was plenty. He'd seen the crowds, seen the teeming amounts of people pouring onto the premises, and he'd seen the stuffed trunks and suitcases. Those three things were enough to tell him something he should have already assumed: that, the day before classes began at Michinori College, students were _finally_ starting to pile in and settle for their first years. Lite beer and roiling emotion had distracted Inuyasha from that fact, and now he chastised himself for it. Had he remembered, and had Kikyo not dumped him, he would have been hanging out with Miroku and Sango while the newest residents found where their homes would be for the next nine months. That way, he wouldn't have to deal with the noise that would no doubt cause him a headache and give him a bad temper. If he had any temper left in him, that is.

Cutting off an angry growl as he backed away from the closed door the adult turned and strode back to his place on the couch where he slumped and watched the television with a dark scowl on his face. With each passing moment he was becoming more and more annoyed with the unceasing noise and shouts of the new residents as they found their rooms. It was like an itch that wouldn't go away; a hum that penetrated every drum in his ears; a throb that threatened to turn his fast-approaching headache into a full-blown migraine at any second.

He had to get out of the dorm building.

Dumping the remains of the alcohol down his throat in a moment of absentmindedness, he stood and as he walked to the kitchen, stubbed his toe on the coffee table.

In that moment of infuriating, simple pain Inuyasha finally broke as the alcohol took its effect and every problem he'd ever had piled onto his imminent rage; especially the most recent stupidity of which he'd experienced. Hefting the bottle in his right hand, with one powerful swing he turned it to a pile of glass by chucking it at the door. It made a clatter of broken glass as it collided with the already dented wood, and the noise pierced his ears in the most uncomfortable way, angering him even more.

Growling dangerously, he whipped around in a vain attempt to search for something else to throw, something else to destroy, and knocked his shin against the couch. The hit caught him in a moment of unbalance, and he quite quickly found himself falling backward. As he went, his head clipped the coffee table, stunning him with the unexpected contact.

Falling heavily onto his back he found himself rendered motionless and breathing heavily. The position he was in was quite awkward and uncomfortable, wedged between the coffee table and the loveseat, but he really didn't mind. Apparently, the knock atop his head had done more than stun him; it had cleared his senses; although he now had a complete headache from the beer.

He felt incredibly stupid for letting himself come to such a state; if anyone saw him, he would never live it down. The name Inuyasha didn't entail weakness to anyone who heard it, however no one would be able to say less if they caught him lying drunk on the floor like he was. Nevertheless he couldn't bring himself to get up. Instead, he just lay there like the drunken idiot he was with his eyes closed against the bright light that issued from the fluorescent light in the center of his ceiling.

As he lay on the ground thinking of nothing, his breathing gradually slowed and he was soon able to reign in his scrambled thoughts. He felt very tired lying uncomfortably on the floor listening to the next movie playing on the television. His thoughts drifted and blurred, then became nonexistent as he fell asleep to the sound of horses whinnying and guns firing.

"Inuyasha, Inuyasha!" a voice shouted, waking the hanyou from his first dreamless sleep in weeks.

"God, he smells like beer," a second voice commented.

"Shut up and help me get him on the couch," the first ordered stiffly, and Inuyasha felt himself being lifted from the hard floor to the too-small couch on his left.

His head throbbed and every sound ricocheted off his ears then back again.

Coughing once to clear his throat he asked his question as he opened his eyes irritably to stare at the faces of the intruders.

"What the hell are you two doing here?"

Tipping her chin up at him and crossing her arms defiantly, Sango jerked her head to the side in a hopeless attempt to clear her light brown eyes from her dark brown bangs but instead only managed to pull a lock of long straight hair over her shoulder. At any other time it would be quite funny to see her feminine awkwardness, but the look she gave him didn't allow laughter; not to mention he wasn't in the mood.

"You've been drinking," she said sternly.

"We're here because Kaede told us it was a good idea to come over," her companion interjected afterward, trying to keep Sango from going further with her argument.

His smile was slightly strained, but otherwise Miroku looked completely natural in his purple polo shirt and slacks. Albeit he looked slightly gay with his small ponytail and gold earring, anyone who knew anything knew he was not. Inuyasha wouldn't doubt that already the female veterans of Michinori College were warning the newbie's about Roaming Hands Miroku.

"Kaede? What did she tell you?" Inuyasha asked quickly, on high alert as he jerked himself into a sitting position on the couch.

"Nothing, really," Miroku unknowingly reassured the hanyou, "She just said it would be a 'good idea to come over'; just like I said ten seconds ago."

"That's beside the point, beside the point!" Sango shouted as she reached forward and snagged Inuyasha's shirt collar. Pulling him upwards until her face was even with his, as soon as it was so she continued her rant. "What the hell were you thinking? Drinking alcohol! You're a hanyou for God's sake! Get a brain will ya?"

Letting a small growl escape past his teeth, Inuyasha carefully pried Sango's fingers from his shirt as he stood, then immediately turned toward the kitchen. He said nothing in his defense as he reached into a cabinet and pulled out a glass that he filled with water from the tap.

Pulling in a sharp breath through her nose, Sango, once again, continued. Her anger at being ignored was practically substantial.

"Okay then, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but seriously, _**you**__ can't drink_! It's dangerous enough that most everyone at Michinori is _human_, but if you drink you put people's_ lives _in danger! Don't make me recount last year's 'experience'." she snapped. "And, now that I've said that, let me get to my other point.

"You broke a bottle against the door, didn't you? I'll bet you threw it! It's broken into the smallest pieces I've ever seen and I'd hate to see the force it took to do that! Yet another reason why you shouldn't drink! You can't control your own strength. Who knows what you could have done. Miroku or I could have walked through that door the moment you threw it and I don't want to have to be the one to have a broken nose and who knows what else because a _bottle_ hit me in the _face_."

As she paused to take a breath, Inuyasha gulped the water from the glass then set it next to the sink.

"Shut up, Sango," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb.

"Oh yes, and I forgot to mention that I almost stepped on the glass! If Miroku hadn't stopped me I wouldn't have a foot anymore, I'd have a lump of ground meat to walk on! Also, you could get in big trouble for doing stuff like that! It's not illegal to drink in the dorms, and the only way to keep things that way is to make sure the campus stays clean and breaking bottles against doors isn't keeping the campus cl--"

"Sango shut the fuck up!" Inuyasha shouted, swiping his hand across the counter and sending the glass he'd used onto the floor where it shattered much like the bottle at his door.

Sango's mouth shut with a click and her posture became rigid. Miroku stiffened as well, and wisely neither said a word.

Inuyasha breathed slowly through his teeth in an attempt to calm himself but it didn't appear to be working.

"You think I don't know these things? You think I'm just a stupid little puppy who needs scolding? You want I should let you spank me then put me outside until I can be a good little dog?" he yelled, slamming his fist on the counter in emphasis. "Well you're just going to have to do without because, surprisingly, I _do_ know these things! So instead of getting in my face about it, why don't you instead consider _why_ I did it? Did you even think for a second that maybe, I don't know, needed a _distraction_? That maybe I'm having my own little problems? Well, did you?"

Sango said nothing in the silence that followed, but her teeth gritted in a vain effort not to cry. Tomboy or not, no girl likes to get yelled at; especially by their friends. And whether someone is a boy or a girl, no one likes to be considered selfish or insensitive. Nobody really wants others to think of them like that, and from what he was saying that's what Inuyasha thought.

The silence was oppressive and lasted what seemed like hours but had to be nothing more than a few minutes. It was uncomfortable, and as Inuyasha realized what he'd said, it became even more so. Then he saw Sango's red cheeks and shining eyes, and everything turned from bad to worse.

Miroku stood by feeling ignored, but rather preferring it to what was unfolding in front of him. He didn't like the fact Inuyasha had yelled at Sango or that Sango was on the verge of losing control, but he just didn't know what to do. He was the middle man in the argument; the one who can only stand by and watch and wait for the inevitable.

Looking at the floor with his shoulders hunched in a shamed appearance, Inuyasha slipped his hands into his pockets and spoke. "I--I'm sorry, Sango; I didn't mean to yell...."

Hearing the hanyou apologize was a rare thing, but when he did it he meant it. It was the only way his personality would allow him to admit he'd made a mistake. But his look and the way he seemed truly sorry is what let Sango smile, even if her chin quivered slightly.

"It's okay, Inuyasha, you're right after all," she said; striding to the adult and patting him on the cheek.

"So...since you said it, what _is_ wrong?" Miroku cut in before he had to watch more apologies.

Inuyasha smiled weakly but said nothing, choosing instead to turn off the television that still burned electricity. As he walked to the screen and pressed the "POWER" button, he stopped smiling. He had to say something sooner or later, and it there was a fine line between a believable white lie and the truth.

"Kikyo's gone; for good, this time," he said, choosing the truth because it was easier to deal with.

"She...she _dumped_ you?" Sango asked incredulously, quickly rubbing her eyes as both boys had their backs to her.

Inuyasha choked out a "yeah, she did" before turning. His face was twisted in an expression of hurt, guilt, and shame; a face neither of his friends had ever seen in the years they'd known him.

Although both Miroku and Sango were glad about the news, they could tell that their saying as much wouldn't improve the situation. Just because they hadn't liked her didn't mean Inuyasha hadn't. Plus, they both knew just about how often Inuyasha dated; but when he did he didn't make things seem unimportant the way Kikyo and the few before her had.

He wasn't exactly the nicest guy to be around when you didn't know him, and it was a rarity that anybody would care to stick around and find out that was just how he was. Callousness suited Inuyasha; not the cuddly, touchy-feely kind of guy anybody could find anywhere if they just turned the next corner.

"So I guess that's why you were...drinking," Sango said, glancing at the obliterated bottle.

Inuyasha nodded and scratched his neck nervously.

He wasn't sure he liked the attention he was getting.

It wasn't normal.

Or pleasing in any way.

Just embarrassing.

The silence persisted and each of them looked anywhere but at each other. It was an uncomfortable moment when Inuyasha told them something about him seeing as it only happened when he was either:

A) Drunk as a skunk in a dump, which wasn't often.

Or

B) He'd been put in a situation where the telling would be unavoidable; like now, for instance.

Finally, Roaming Hands Miroku broke the silence.

"So...anyone up for sushi?"

_**Author**__**'**__**s Note**_

_First off, thanks everybody for reading thus far and thanks for those who have added this story to their favorites and a big hug to those who gave me reviews! Without these people I don__'__t think this story would have gotten even this far; I probably would have stopped after the first or second chapter. But that__'__s just me and I__'__m weird that way. So thanks._

_Secondly, this will probably be a long author__'__s note because I only just realized that to make an author__'__s note you have to put it in with the chapter otherwise it won__'__t work. I guess you could call this an FYI for those who are trying to figure out the same thing__…__ANYWAY._

_Just a few things I want to say because I didn__'__t say them in the beginning because I *read the above paragraph*._

_1. I'm sure you all know it, but I suppose I'd better say it so I don't get in trouble. None of the Inuyasha characters are mine and none of the terms, looks, or Inuyasha objects are mine either. They're Rumiko Takahashi's, thank you very much, and I have to say that if they were mine, the storyline would have been completely messed up. And even though I hate emoticons I'll put one here just to complete the "joke" _

_2. I'm going to try and incorporate a lot of the Inuyasha typicality into this story so if you don't like reading about stuff you already know this is a heads up that I'm going to try and keep most everything the same as the anime/manga. But no guarantees, though._

_3. Yes, I know Sango is actually quite feminine, but I'm going to quirk some personalities here a bit so if you hate that too, another heads up._

_4. This is a very long author's note_

_5. Hmm…I wanted to say something but I can't remember…_

_6. Oh yes! I remember. When I mentioned Kaguya in chapter two, I did mean Kaguya from the movie, not Kagura; she comes in later. You all probably already knew that, you're not stupid, and I'm not saying those that didn't know this are stupid, I'm just saying…and I should probably stop saying before someone decides to kill me for my ignorance._

_7. Even though Inuyasha, Shippo, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Kaguya, Sesshoumaru, and the rest aren't my characters, like I said, Chiaki and Masuyo are I'm sure you know. If there are characters called this and are Kagome's relatives, I haven't heard of it. So, Chiaki and Masuyo are MINE, MINE, MINE! Okydoky kiddies? That was insulting, yes I know, I apologize. But they are mine, so no stealing even though I know such a thing would never happen to me._

_8. I can't think of anything else, but if I do I guarantee there will be another author's note at the end of chapter…five…? Great, I don't remember how many chapters I've put up. Wonderful. Yes, I'm a little absentminded; I am moving, after all…not that anybody cares._

_Amway, even though I know nobody has bothered to read this because the author__'__s opinion really doesn__'__t matter to anybody, if you have please tell me because I think it would be funny to be proven wrong and told that someone has, in fact, bothered to read this entire chapter including the author__'__s note._

_Again, thank you for reading thus far and __"__favorite-ing__"__/__"__reviewing__"_

_Chapter five will be up soon!_

_Ciao!_

_(PS, yes I know I am not funny which is why I have changed this story from humor/romance to general/romance and to be honest there may or may not be any actual romance__…__but please keep reading! I might just lie and say there will _definitely_ be romance! Otherwise, don__'__t mind me I__'__m just another stupid author and this is just another stupid author__'__s note nobody is going to read! Kay bye)_

_(PPS--or is it PSS?--anyway i just thought it would be interesting to say that this author's note is just about as long as the chapter! sorry, i'm really going now.)_

_(PPPS/PSSS--JUST KIDDING! oh all right bye.)_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**Issues of Time**

Kagome groaned tiredly as she fingered her watch for the quiet alarm at her wrist, early-morning grogginess making her fingers sluggish as she searched for the minute button on her small time-teller. Normally she would have used any other normal alarm clock with its loud, high-pitched ringing and easily-found "OFF" button; however at the moment her original clock was tucked away at the residence of the American Higurashis. It probably wasn't the best decision on her part, she'd need it more at the C dorms than at her relative's home, but she had already left it there and there it would stay. She would just use the hushed tone on her watch until she could afford a new alarm.

Stretching and yawning widely enough her jaw popped, when she relaxed her arms on her lap she looked out her window and discovered that light from the moon had been replaced with light from the sun. Through her blinds she could see a ghostly hue cast over the sky as the sun rose, highlighting the morning mist that hovered in the air above the ground two stories below her room. It was slightly eerie watching the night disappear by the rotation of the earth, and even though she knew it was the same sun, it looked different from the one she was used to back in Japan.

She'd always heard overly-romanticized tales of the different appearances of the moon and the sun over different lands, but being as she had never traveled farther than Tokyo she had never believed the tales. Instead, she had always taken it as fanciful poetry meant to light the imagination of those her age and younger. However, now that she was experiencing the first sunrise in America--at least the first she chose to admire--she realized that he tales she'd been told as a teen were true. The sun and the moon were different depending on where you were. In Tokyo it was warm and welcoming, but in America it was alien and mysterious. It didn't give her any romantic ideas, and poetic phrases didn't pop into her head. It only seemed to remind her that she wasn't home, in Japan, where she knew how things worked and what was "acceptable" in society. Here in America, one misstep, one gesture, could mean something she would never intend to insinuate.

Then she also noticed last night's "ladder" on her floor. With the different lighting and the realization she didn't belong where she was; it suddenly looked much more...sullen. Even though the color on her floor was beautiful, the concept wasn't. Abruptly, she found herself feeling miserable again; her thoughts changing from last night's cheerful to the airport's anxiousness.

Sure, some things had changed from then to now; after all, she'd met her relatives and except for her uncle they had seemed nice enough. But now she was no longer tucked under their wings. She was at her college where she knew nobody. She had no friends; no distractions; nothing to cheer her. In a way it was worse than the airport; at least back then she hadn't known about the happiness that resided a short distance away from her dorm; a place where she knew people and had fun with them.

It was a bad feeling; knowing what you could have but not able to have it when you needed it most.

"No Kagome! Stop it!" she chastised herself. "Now is not the time to get depressed! You have to get ready to meet aunt Chiaki later, come on, girl, get it together!"

Leaping from beneath her bed covers, and nearly landing flat on her face when her legs tangled in the blankets, Kagome Higurashi walked straight backed and determined to her dresser where she removed a pair of skinny jeans, underwear, socks, and a blue sweater. Tossing the items onto the counter as she entered the bathroom she turned the water on in the shower and, while it heated, skipped out to the kitchen.

Turning toward one of her cabinets, just above the microwave, she swung the small door open then her eyes fell on the clock on the microwave and she froze.

Her watch was set to go off at 8:30 so that she would have time to shower, dress, and then take her aunt's directions to the bus stop where she would follow the route set by Masuyo to the stop near their house where she would walk the three blocks to where they lived. The bus left at 10:00. Her watch said 8:39. The clock on her microwave told a different time.

10:27.

Her jaw dropped and raising her watch to eye-level her gaze shifted between the small time-teller on her wrist and the one that sat under the cabinet.

She was late, too late for the bus, and she couldn't walk to her relatives' house. For one she didn't know where it was, and secondly it was much too far out of walking distance. Mostly, though, she didn't know where they lived. All she remembered was a turn left then right then straight then left then right...or was it another left? Or was it straight?

She started to panic, and then a small realization hit her.

First off, she hadn't known the proper time difference between America and Japan when she landed, so she had just chosen a random time to set her watch back to. To even have the smallest chance of getting it correct she would have to be incredibly lucky. She was _never_ lucky.

But, then again, she had just moved to the C dorms, and the microwave looked old. No doubt, it, too, was on the wrong time.

With her heart in her throat and her stomach in her feet, Kagome waddled back to the bathroom where she took a cold shower, dressed, then exited to her living room where she promptly plopped herself down on the couch.

She didn't know what to do.

She couldn't call Chiaki since she, stupidly, didn't know their phone number.

So what were her options?

_'Uh-uh, no way, I'm not gonna fall to pieces again. It's time to grow up, Kagome, and fend for yourself.' _She thought in a desperate attempt to harden herself.

Amazingly, it worked.

Hopping to her feet she slipped on a pair of sneakers then, taking one last glance around her dorm and grabbing her keys, wallet, and cell phone, exited to the hallway. Checking to make sure her door had locked; once she was satisfied she headed off toward the elevator.

When she saw the "OUT OF ORDER" sign hanging feebly from a dying piece of duct tape, she almost groaned. Instead of falling prey to the sounds of hopelessness, though, she turned about and headed for the stairs.

As she rounded the corner that would lead her straight to the staircase, she came face to face with a black wall which she bounced off like rubber and landed on her rear. Her face turned a bright shade of red as she scurried to her feet muttering a range of apologies in fluent Japanese and halting English that came out sounding something like "solly" instead of the "sorry" she'd been taught. Why was the English language so damn difficult?

Brushing invisible dust from her jeans, she finally looked up to see the face of the person she'd run into and almost gaped.

At first, she'd thought she'd been looking at Sesshoumaru, but before she could start wondering why he, a man of obvious self-importance, was in the dorm building she noticed that it wasn't him. In fact, with a good look at the boy in front of her, she saw he was definitely _not_ Sesshoumaru.

For one, his long hair was not in a ponytail, and for another his hair was more white than silver and fell in a straight wave down his back; not quite to his waist but almost. He was much tanner than Sesshoumaru, a hue that was in stark contrast to his hair, and he had no tattoos of any sort. Instead of a suit he wore a tight black turtleneck and faded black jeans and sneakers. A black knit cap was pulled over his head and the fringe of hair that popped out beneath almost hid his eyes. Eyes a similar shade to Sesshoumaru's, however instead of icy daggers they were molten spears. They weren't cold, but hot and dangerous and at the moment they looked at her in a very irritated manner. A pity she couldn't see his ears, they were hidden by his hair. With her recent studies of the shape of the hearing apparatus on the human body, she was slightly disappointed she couldn't see whether they were pointed or rounded. She did notice, however, the arrogance that practically radiated from him; as well as the sense of dim-wittedness she received in the way he glared at her.

"What are you looking at, huh?" he snapped.

"Oh, nothing, excuse me," Kagome stammered when she realized she was staring, and quickly brushed past him to hide her embarrassment. Then she remembered her predicament. "Wait, do you know what time it is?" she asked, turning back to face him.

He gave her another of his already-trademarked irritated looks as he pulled back the sleeve of his wrist to reveal a silver watch. "Ten thirty-six," he growled before stalking off again.

"T-ten thirty-six...?" Kagome squeaked, scrambling to set the time on her watch as she nearly cried with fear. "I'm supposed to be on the bus by now! I don't know where they live! Oh God I'm going to die!"

"Hey, are you alright?" a voice asked from ahead.

"Huh? What?" Kagome said, looking up from her watch.

"I asked if you were alright; you were kinda shouting at yourself...something about dying...?" the person, a girl, said as she folded her hands behind her back.

From what Kagome saw, and from the way she was speaking her native tongue, she was clearly Japanese with brown eyes and brown hair pulled up in an extremely high ponytail. Her ears were rounded like Kagome's and she wore a black sweater and dark blue jeans with pink and white sneakers on her feet. She was very pretty and looked about Kagome's age, maybe older.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" Kagome said, waving her hand dismissively. It would be a tragic incident if she involved another person in her problems.

"Okay, if you say so...oh, wait, did you say something about Mrs. Higurashi?" the girl said turning back toward Kagome after having already started to walk away.

"Ah, um, yeah, I did actually...I was supposed to be on a bus right now heading for their home but I kinda set my alarm wrong and I've already missed the bus and I don't know where they live or what their phone number is...." she blabbed loosely, her voice beginning to quiver.

"Hmm...If you're a student at Michinori College--which you probably are judging as you're here--and you know Mrs. Higurashi, and you're trying to get to her house, then that must mean...you're Kagome Higurashi! The foreign exchange student Mrs. Higurashi has been talking about all summer!" the girl said excitedly, leaping back to Kagome and gripping her hand. "I can't believe how lucky I am! Ever since I heard about you I've kinda been a little jealous, I mean, Mrs. Higurashi talked about you almost every time I saw her, but now I finally get to meet the famed Kagome Higurashi and now that I've met you it's hard to be jealous! I mean, you're beautiful!"

"Oh, well, thanks, I guess. I _am_ Kagome, by the way...who--who are you?" she asked. The girl talked so excitedly and openly, that Kagome had to wonder if something was...wrong. She didn't exactly look like the "OMG are you serious?" kind of girl. "I mean, well, _Chiaki has been talking about me_?"

"Right, I'm Sango; and yes, she really has. She couldn't seem to get it out of her head that she was finally going to meet her long-lost niece and was obsessed with the fact that you were smart enough to get a scholarship to Michinori." she replied as she closely studied the much-talked-about scholarship student.

"Huh," Kagome said, slightly unnerved at being talked about. It didn't happen very often as far as she knew.

"So, you say you don't know where Mrs. Higurashi lives? Well, I can help you with that come with me!" Sango said cheerfully. "We'll have to borrow Miroku's car, but I'm sure he won't mind driving two girls to Mrs. Higurashi's." she laughed as she snatched Kagome's wrist and pulled her down the stairs leading to the first level of the C dorms.

"M-Miroku...who's that?" Kagome stammered, practically tripping down the stairs behind Sango.

"Oh, he's just my...boyfriend; come on!" Sango cried as she hopped the last few steps to the floor, almost causing Kagome to fall flat on her face not for the first time that morning. "He's in room 005C," she said as she pushed through the doors to another hallway, "and it's right over...here!"

Stopping in front of a battered-looking door, Sango pounded on it with her fist and her happy face dissolved into one of annoyance that matched the tone of her voice. "Open up Miroku! Open up! Get your lazy ass out of bed, damn it!"

Surprised at the sudden change in attitude, Kagome couldn't help but stare at the girl as she pounded on door 005C.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," a distant voice called from behind the door. Locks clicked and then the door swung open to reveal a shirtless boy wearing purple pajama pants and dark blue slippers. His hair was dark brown and pulled back into an incredibly small ponytail and his eyes were a strange-purplish blue enhanced by the color of his pajama bottoms. On one hand, his right, a purple fingerless glove was the only clothing he wore above the waist. He, too, had rounded ears instead of pointed. He also had a well-toned torso....

"S-Sango?" he said tiredly, dragging a hand over his face to wipe the sleepiness from it as Kagome looked down at the floor, staring at his slippers to hide the redness of her face.

"Hurry and get dressed Miroku; I need you to take me and Kagome to Mrs. Higurashi's place, pronto!" Sango ordered; placing her hands on his chest and shoving him back into his room.

"But I need my beauty sleep too you know!" he complained, landing on his rear as the shove sent him careening backwards.

"Five minutes, Miroku!" Sango shouted, then closed the door with a slam and leaned against door 006C across the hall.

"Um, Ms. Sango, you know you don't have to do this..." Kagome said uncertainly.

"Oh don't worry about it Kagome, Miroku can get his sleep later, it's not like he doesn't get enough. Oh, and Kagome, forget the 'Ms." stuff, okay? Just call me Sango and you can just call Miroku, Miroku. An idiot like him doesn't deserve a 'Mr.' anyway."

"You drive a _BMW_?" Kagome asked, awestruck.

"Well, yes; when you earn as much as I do working, it's easy to afford!" Miroku bragged, dressed now in a purple t-shirt, blue jeans, and sandals. He may have had well-toned, lean muscles; but his fashion sense was terrible.

"Oh yeah...? Where do you work?" Kagome said, sliding into the back seat. She needed a job, and maybe today was her lucky day.

"Oh, just an old shop nearby!" he grinned at her through the rearview mirror.

Then again, maybe not.

"Just ignore him, Kagome--it'll take more than questions to get anything out of _him_," Sango said, leaning against the passenger seat with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Sango! That's not a very polite thing to say in front of our new friend here," Miroku pouted.

"Get a life, jackass." Sango snapped.

Kagome almost laughed but a rough voice cut her off, dragging her attention elsewhere.

"Miroku! Sango!"

"Well if it isn't Inuyasha!" Miroku called, rolling down the window.

Looking at "Inuyasha", Kagome's stomach did flip-flops at the sight of the white-haired boy from before. With his hair flapping out behind him as he ran towards them, he looked even better than when he'd been, well, _glaring_ at her.

Turning her head away so he wouldn't recognize her, Kagome stared through the crack between Sango's seat and the cream-colored wall of the car. She was slightly embarrassed about her show of time ignorance, not to mention how she'd stared at him. But she couldn't help it! His shirt was much too tight....

"Hey, where are you two going?" he asked, coming over to the window and bending over to look into the car, his arms resting on the roof in a way that accentuated the muscles on his limbs and chest.

"Just to Mrs. Higurashi's," Sango replied, her tone of voice light at the sight of the white-haired boy. They didn't seem to notice, but it seemed to Kagome that her voice was slightly _too_ light.

"Huh. Who's the wench?" Kagome heard him ask.

Her fingers twitched at the insulting indication of herself, but she still didn't turn her face to him. At the insult, her first impression of "Inuyasha" was getting worse and worse. Soon, any good impression he'd managed to pull off with her would be completely obliterated.

"Now, now Inuyasha, let's be polite shall we? This is Kagome Higurashi; the one Mrs. Higurashi was talking about all summer long," Miroku said calmly.

"You said Mrs. Chiaki's? Well then I'm coming too!" Inuyasha said, and Kagome heard the door open next to her then the distinct shifting of the seat as he sat down next to her. His seatbelt clicked the instant Miroku started the car. "She said she'd help me out with some...things...and she hasn't done anything yet!"

"Oh come on, Inuyasha, why don't you just solve your _own_ problems?" Sango said, "Mrs. Higurashi can't do _everything_, you know."

A slight tension fell over the car, but it was brief enough to have been a figment of her imagination as Inuyasha replied.

"Since when? She's always done everything _before_," he snapped, then turned his attention elsewhere as the car began to pull from the C dorm lot. "Hey, Kagome was it? Weren't you the girl trying to find out the time earlier?"

Kagome jumped slightly and turned her head to face the clearly stupid adult beside her, hiding her embarrassment behind a mask of indignation. "So what if I am?" she snapped, meeting him glare-for-glare.

"Temperamental, isn't she?" Inuyasha said dismally, leaning against the seat and looking down at Kagome from the corner of his eye.

"Ha!" Kagome iterated angrily. _'What am I doing? I'm acting like a little girl for God's sake! But it's not _my_ fault, _he_ called _me_ a _wench_!'_

"Kagome, is something wrong?" Sango asked as she turned to look over the headrest at their flustered companion.

"No, nothing is wrong, nothing at all; I'm just being annoyed by a sultry dog with the gal to insult me!" Kagome said rapidly. The anger building up within her was bitter and full of resentment. _'How dare he embarrass me! How dare he insult me! I don't care if it's childish at all, _I hate him_!'_

Closing her eyes to hide the sheen of rage-tears in her eyes, Kagome flopped against her seat and turned toward the window as far as the seatbelt would allow.

"Dog, dog, did you just call me a _dog_?" Inuyasha growled from beside Kagome. Was she imagining it, or did he sound a little...alarmed?

"So what if I did?" she snarled back, "_You_ called _me _a wench!"

"I call everybody that!" he shouted.

"Well how am I supposed to know that?" Kagome yelled back with a voice louder than his. "You shouldn't be calling anybody that! It _can_ hurt people's feelings, you know! God you're such an idiot!"

Cussing usually wasn't Kagome's forte, but she couldn't help it he was making her so mad!

"Wow Kagome, you tell him!" Miroku cheered, drowning out Inuyasha's reply.

"You'll fit right in with us!" he added, bringing Kagome up short as she was about to reprimand the white-haired adult once again.

"What?" she asked; slightly disgusted to hear Inuyasha ask the same thing at the same time as her.

"You know that saying, Kagome? The oh-so-annoying-yet-oh-so-appropriate one?" Sango queried abruptly.

"Huh? Well, not really, no." She replied, unsure if Sango meant a Japanese or American saying.

"You've never heard of 'finder's keeper's loser's weepers'? I can't believe that! Anyway, what Miroku is saying and what I'm going to tell you is that at Michinori College everyone always has these cliques and groups and gangs they hang out in. Usually the first day of college is reserved for the newbies to find their groups, but seeing as you're here now, and you're new, and you're with us, we get first dibs on you. So, how about it Kagome? You want to stick around with us?" Sango said, grinning at the dumbstruck adult from over her seat.

"What? You can't be serious! Her, with us! How stupid!" Inuyasha shouted, but Kagome wasn't listening.

"R-really? You, you're going to be my friends?" Kagome stammered.

"Of course! Anybody who can handle Inuyasha has to be a saint, and you can handle him, let me tell you!" Sango laughed.

"Hey!" said the indicated adult.

"I'm not exactly a saint, but honestly I'd be, well, frankly, I'd be honored to be your friend," Kagome said shyly, a small smile spreading across her face.

"Honored! She'd be honored! You hear that Miroku? Kagome is ours!"

As the two cheered and as Inuyasha made half-hearted protests, Kagome could only think of one thing.

Friends.

She had friends.

Living, breathing, friends.

And she hadn't even started college yet.

_**Author's Note, Update Information, and Dorm Building C Layouts**_

_**Author's Note:**_

_Okay here's another note._

_Just so you know, I wanted to use the traditional suffixes (i.e. -san, -Sama, -chan), I really did, but I figured since they were in America I should use the Mrs., Mr., etc. instead. yes, I know they're speaking Japanese, originally, and that almost made me change my mind, but its read in English and since the suffixes can be considered Mr. and Mrs. I figured it was okay to just use them. And yes, I know that most "fanfics" use these suffixes, but really I figured, what's the point? Either way, people are going to get the point, right?_

_Anyway, I hope this doesn't alter opinions of the story because I actually like it better, in a way, but if it does I understand. I do, actually._

_Thanks for reading thus far._

_**Update Information:**_

_Okay, so far I've managed to keep this story updated about once a week (or less/more?) and there is a reason for that. The reason is because I've had these first few chapters outlined already and mostly written and before posting them I've re-written, edited, and gone through them to the best of my ability._

_After this chapter, however, I begin to free-write again after which I'll have to re-write, edit, and go through the new chapters before posting to make sure the quality of chapters is the best I can offer._

_I promise this will be a long process, sadly, so as a warning the updates of this story are going to slow somewhat. I'll try to keep the pace, and it'll be a lot easier with summer on the way, but I'm also moving so that will create some problems as at some point I won't have a computer to update with._

_I'll keep writing, to be sure, but for _at least _two to three weeks I'm expecting not to be able to update. I'm hoping the time range will be less, but there's no certainty; it depends on when we put away our computers and when we put them back up._

_So, I don't know for sure when this break will occur, but I'll put it out here when I do._

_Sorry, but I hope you keep reading Michinori College!_

_Thanks again!_

_**Dorm Building C Layouts**_

_Bonus: How Dorm C Works:_

_Here I have some links describing the layout of Dorm Building C for Michinori College._

_Just to clarify, these maps were made in Paint, and clearly I am not good in Paint. Please do not point this out. Also, the maps aren't to scale, and are just blatant assumptions._

_To get the Links to work, since I don't know how to make them in this program, copy and paste the websites to your browser and hit enter or the arrow next to the browser that should be pointing towards your right._

_Also, since I didn't know where to place the pictures, I put them onto my DA account that I rarely, if ever, use. All of my writing on it is very old and very stupid so I would appreciate it if you didn't browse or read through them. If some crazy whim catches hold of you and you decide to disobey this request, I won't hold it against you. But those are very early works and very...immature(?) and I would like to keep my dignity by you not reading them._

_IF THE LINKS DON'T WORK type in your browser. Once you arrive at DA, go to the Search panel and type in General Map, Room Layouts, Room Structures, or Locations of the Lights. It should take you to these pictures. If it still doesn't work, I don't know what to tell you._

_BIG POINT HERE PEOPLE READ IT BEFORE YOU LOOK AT BELOW LINKS!_

_The beginning of the link might not be there, if it isn't you'll have to type it in. It's h t t p : / / streetcatz . deviantart . com (then the rest should fit)_

_Example:_

_H t t p :// streetcatz . deviantart . com / art / General-Map-165074105_

_PS—don't put spaces in between them all, I only did that to make sure they appeared._

_thanks_

_General Map:_

_.com/art/General-Map-165074105_

_Room Locations:_

_.com/gallery/#/d2qa4a4_

_Room Structures (Probably the most helpful):_

_.com/gallery/#/d2qa4fn_

_Locations of the Lights:_

_.com/gallery/#/d2qa46f_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**Time Telling**

Inuyasha woke that morning early enough that the sun hadn't yet risen but late enough that the moon had already disappeared. The muscles below the nape of his neck ached from the awkward angle at which his head rested and his arm was once again numb. The blankets were half on him half off, covering his legs and part of his back but leaving his bare torso mostly exposed. His shirt, pants, and knit cap lay in a heap at the foot of his bed, the only thing he wore a pair of boxers covered in a variety of yellow smiling faces-a present from Rin he'd received on Easter, the one person to give gifts to everyone on every holiday, Japanese or American.

Lying there he faced the red glow of his digital clock, the room given a bluish glow from the window behind him. His mind wandered blankly from one topic to the other, although he seemed to focus mainly on his argument with Sango and break-up with Kikyou. No doubt his two friends were pleased about the fact that he and Kikyou were no longer together. Their dislike of her wasn't and had never been a secret, though Miroku managed to hide it better than his girlfriend. Yet as he lay there empty and staring at the clock that read 4:39, he couldn't help but agree with whoever said all pain dulls with time.

It had barely been two days since he last saw Kikyou, and he was already beginning to feel less hurt and more indifference. Perhaps it had something to do with his demon blood; after all, with it his body healed faster than the average human's, why shouldn't his damaged pride?

Stifling a yawn the hanyou then inhaled deeply as he sat up, shaking out his numb arm as he slid from his bed to his feet. The ground seemed momentarily unstable as he struggled to maintain his balance so early in the morning and it didn't help that he was still exhausted from work. However, now that he was awake, there was no possible way he would be able to get back to sleep until late in the morning. After which he'd only end up feeling groggy and irritated, wishing that he had indeed gotten up.

After using the bathroom, he stumbled out to the kitchen where he once again realized he needed to go shopping. It wasn't exactly a good breakfast product, but after eating a bowl of old instant ramen he dressed into a turtleneck, black jeans, sneakers, and a knit cap. Then, after taking one last look around the room, Inuyasha exited his dorm room carrying his helmet under one arm and his keys in his hand.

It was well past ten o'clock when Inuyasha returned to the dorm parking lot, and the morning sun had almost risen over the horizon. It was unusually dark for the time of day, but that wasn't the first thing on the half-demon's mind as he chained his motorcycle to the light post.

He hadn't meant to, but as he rode around the city without any destination in mind, he had found himself stopped on a curb that just happened to be located a block away Kikyou's house. He had been hidden from view by a large willow tree, but he saw everything in front of him. He had been there for some time before he'd realized where he was, but by that time he'd been too involved in what he saw to leave.

While he watched, Kikyou had been sitting on her front step smoking a cigarette he was sure didn't contain _tobacco_ when a small red porche pulled up her driveway. It was an impressive car, but not quite as impressive as the two men who stepped out of it with careful importance.

One wore a large black suit and a sash of fox fur around his waist. He was very bald and very large and stunk of hair tonic even from where Inuyasha sat. His forehead was flat, his eyes were black and beady, his jaw was long, and his teeth were too small. He carried a small brown sack in one hand and a black briefcase in the other. The smile he wore was hideous and contained many different meanings; none of which were good.

The other, the driver, was almost the complete opposite of the first. He was tall and thin with a well-trimmed navy blue suit and cufflinks. He had a very long braid that hung down his back almost to the ground, and had what Inuyasha supposed was a handsome face. He carried nothing, but the smile he had plastered to his mouth was almost as bad as his companion's.

The bald one was called Manten, and he was the younger brother to the second man, Hiten. There was not much family resemblance as far as Inuyasha could tell, but their hobbies were similar enough, as well as their interests.

As he watched, they approached Kikyou with all possible friendliness while they talked in animated tones. He was positive they didn't know he was watching, although they might as well have known with how quiet their voices were. Even with his sensitive hearing, he couldn't catch a word of what they said.

Right then all Inuyasha wanted to do was ride up and mow them both down on his motorcycle for what they'd turned Kikyou into, and to stop them before they could give her what they'd no doubt come to give. But he didn't; not only was it illogical, but improbable and a stupid action on his part.

Kikyou had stood with a look of disdain on her face as she smashed her cigarette beneath one slippered foot, her arms folded over her chest as she listened to them talk. She had never been a patient person, and when their talk had gone on long enough, she cut in with what she wanted to know. Her voice had been curt and clear and Inuyasha had heard every word.

"Where are my products?"

_Products_.

When they'd been together, that's what she'd called her drugs and alcohol; her _products_. He supposed she had given them that name to make her addiction seem less horrible to him, but in actuality all it had done was make her situation seem all the more worse. It made it seem like she had given her addiction an affectionate nickname; something she never deigned to give anyone else. Now she was using the _affectionate _word in front of Hiten and Manten, and all it did was make Inuyasha sick. First, she had used the word on him; now she was using it on them. He started to wonder if there wasn't something seriously wrong with her mind.

At her brisk words, the brothers' smiles never faded, but their mannerisms became slightly irritated; apparently they didn't like to be interrupted or ordered about. They wanted to do what they wanted when they wanted; which meant, in other words, they would talk about her _products_ when they chose to, not when she wanted to.

"How much?" she asked, cutting them off once again amidst mindless chatter.

Manten visibly stiffened this time around, and his hands closed tightly over the brown bag and the briefcase he held. He was clearly the brother with emotion, whereas emotionless Hiten merely stopped smiling—an action that usually didn't bode well. They appeared very threatening afterwards, and Inuyasha almost rushed over to stop an impending conflict; but before he could so much as lift a finger Hiten sighed and snatched the paper bag from Manten and offered it to Kikyou.

"Thank you," she hissed, then once she had her prize securely in her possession handed them a white sack in return before turning and storming into her house.

Hiten and Manten remained where they were for what seemed hours but was truly only a few moments as they took out a stack of bills from the sack and counted them carefully before marching back to the porche and slipping into it. Their words were brisk and angry; they clearly didn't like the way Kikyou had handled their business.

As they drove away, Inuyasha couldn't help but let out a relieved breath. It bothered him. Not Hiten and Manten, but the knowledge that he would have helped Kikyou if she had gotten into trouble. He got the feeling being rid of his remaining _devotion_ wouldn't be quite as easy as waiting for time to dull the pain. But even so, he had no doubt she would have mocked him for helping her, and she would have enjoyed sucking from him whatever pride he had left and in the meantime she would wallow in self-importance that she was irresistible. And even knowing this he _still _would have helped her if he could have. He tried to tell himself he'd do that for anybody if he'd seen them in trouble, not just Kikyou, and it almost seemed true; he could almost believe himself. But almost.

As Inuyasha skipped up the stairs to the second level, he found himself feeling slightly surprised for not being mad at this awareness. Any other day, he would have been raging and destroying anything he could without repercussions. But today seemed...different. Perhaps it had something to do with his argument with Sango; or with his having woken so early. Then again perhaps it was just a "lucky" day.

Pushing the door open Inuyasha heard the footsteps coming closer, but as he rounded the corner he felt a sense of astonishment as the small figure of another person rammed into his chest then fell backwards to the ground. They, she, seemed genuinely sorry for the accident as she got to her feet, muttering awkward apologies in English and clear, concise ones in Japanese, but Inuyasha couldn't help feeling a sense of annoyance at his thought processes being interrupted.

She was soon on her feet, brushing her jeans for no apparent reason, when she looked up at him.

Kikyou.

He almost said it aloud, but as she stared at him he realized she wasn't who he thought she was.

At a glance, she looked just like his ex, yet at a closer look she was the complete opposite. For one, her face wasn't sunken and her skin wasn't pasty from drugs, and for another her eyes were blue, not brown. Her hair had more wave and more lift to it than Kikyou's. She was slender, but not anorexic, and her clothes deeply complimented her figure.

His examination of her was brief, but her study of him was lasting a bit too long.

"What are you looking at, huh?" he snapped automatically, a bit of his regular personality resurfacing.

Her shoulders jumped in surprise, however her response was quick.

"Oh, nothing, excuse me," she stammered, and he saw a slight reddening of her cheeks before she brushed past him.

He started to walk away when once again she stopped him, if in a less 'violent' manner.

"Wait, do you know what time it is?" she asked, and he rounded on her with an irritated look as he lifted an arm and pulled back the sleeve to reveal his watch. Something about her just made him want to boot her out of the dorm yet at the same time keep her there until she'd calmed down. With how frantically she was reacting to every little thing, there had to be at least something upsetting her. Not that it was any of his concern.

As he looked at his watch to answer her question, the time he saw there surprised him; he hadn't realized he'd dawdled so long going up the stairs; but he made sure not to let his reaction show.

"Ten thirty-six," he growled, then before anything else could catch him off guard he turned around and walked off.

He heard a distant, frightened "T-ten thirty-six...?" and almost turned to ask, in an annoyed tone, if she was alright when another voice spoke and he decided against it. He could recognize Sango's voice anywhere, and being the sentimental type she would easily be able to solve the girl's problem. Although he wondered what Sango was doing on the second floor in the first place.

It took less than ten minutes to browse through every channel on the television, and all he found were ages old, black and white comedy shows along with the American version of soap operas that had acting so terrible a dog could do better. When he tried watching them, all he could do was gag and tap the armrest with his fingers, his claws sinking into the durable fabric carelessly. All he wanted to do was move, get up and do something, but he didn't know what to do. The fitness room at the college didn't open until classes started the next day, so there was no way to work up a sweat and burn off some energy as of yet. He didn't have to work today or tomorrow, so he very well couldn't go to the Shikon Jewel Store; Kaguya wouldn't pay overtime to someone who wasn't supposed to work that day in the first place. There was nothing on television he would care to watch. He had nothing to do.

Then he remembered Sango, who he'd heard only a few minutes before. If he hurried, he might just catch her before she left...

Switching off the television, he grabbed his knit cap, wallet, keys, and cell phone before practically running from his dorm room to the hallway. He went quickly but carefully to avoid colliding with any more newbies, and was outside within moments to see Miroku get in his car along with Sango.

"Miroku! Sango!" he shouted, jogging up to the vehicle and leaning over Miroku's window when he reached it.

"Well if it isn't Inuyasha!" Miroku said as he rolled his window down, his usual grin present on his face, if a little more..._happy _than usual.

"Hey, where are you two going?" he asked, glancing between Miroku and Sango curiously.

"Just to Mrs. Higurashi's," Sango replied lightly, and it took an effort to ignore the cautious look in her eyes. He wanted to apologize again for what he'd said the day before, it seemed like he should, but the timing just wasn't right. Besides, he'd apologized enough in his mind; doing it again out loud seemed a bit like overkill.

"Huh," he said, then looked at the backseat and raised his eyebrows with surprise at who he saw huddled against the seat looking away from him. He recognized her immediately, but as far as Miroku and Sango knew, they hadn't met yet, so he played along with ignorance. "Who's the wench?" he asked.

She flinched and he almost smiled. That was the usual reaction he got from other people, and a bit of normalcy every now and then in the midst of abnormal events never hurt anybody.

"Now, now Inuyasha, let's be polite shall we? This is Kagome Higurashi; the one Mrs. Higurashi was talking about all summer long," Miroku explained, scolding half-heartedly at his friend's rudeness.

Inuyasha ignored any information about the girl, and instead switched his attention to their destination. "You said Mrs. Chiaki's? Well then I'm coming too!" he said, pushing himself away from Miroku's window. He opened the door behind the driver's and slipped onto the cream seat beside "Kagome". She didn't move as he buckled his seatbelt and didn't even blink an eye when Miroku started the car. "She said she'd help me out with some...things...and she hasn't done anything yet!"

"Oh come on, Inuyasha, why don't you just solve your _own_ problems?" Sango blurted, quickly catching the hanyou's attention. "Mrs. Higurashi can't do _everything_, you know."

Inuyasha swallowed and from the corner of his eye he could see Sango stiffen and heard her teeth click as she snapped her mouth shut. He had two choices then; he could snap at her and make things worse, or he could brush it off and turn it into a subtle joke.

"Since when? She's always done everything _before_," he said, and hoped his words would be taken in a "brushing off" kind of way. He wasn't good at judging people's reactions, and when he tried they would always react the opposite to the way he thought they would. But before he could find out what Sango thought, he switched his attention elsewhere. "Hey, Kagome was it? Weren't you the girl trying to find out the time earlier?"

He could have laughed with how high she jumped, but decided against it as she whirled on him with a look of indignation that would have frozen a leopard in its tracks.

"So what if I am?" she snapped angrily, meeting him glare-for-glare.

"Temperamental, isn't she?" he said, leaning against the seat and watching her from the corner of his eye.

"Ha!" she uttered angrily, and her ears turned a bright shade of red.

"Kagome, is something wrong?" Sango asked meekly, avoiding looking at Inuyasha.

"No, nothing is wrong, nothing at all;" she replied quickly, "I'm just being annoyed by a sultry dog with the gal to insult me!"

A flare of anger presented itself in Inuyasha in the place of panic. He doubted she knew what he was, and her not knowing made her comeback all the worse.

Her eyes closed and her brow furrowed before she flopped against her seat and turned as far away from him as possible. He had that affect on people.

"Dog, dog, did you just call mea _dog_?" Inuyasha growled, and he couldn't avoid the hint of alarm that tainted his words. If she _did_ know, how had she found out? And what would she do about it?

"So what if I did?" she snarled back, "_You_ called _me_ a wench!"

Inuyasha could have sighed with his relief at realizing her response really had just been an automatic comeback, but there was no way he would let anybody see he could be reassured and instead roared "I call everybody that!"

"How am I supposed to know that?" she yelled, and her vehemence surprised him; she wasn't backing down at all. Instead, all his shouting at her just seemed to make her bolder. "You shouldn't be calling anybody that! It _can _hurt people's feelings, you know! God you're such an idiot!"

"Wow Kagome, you tell him!" Miroku cheered at the same time Inuyasha replied "Are you kidding? You're the idiot, idiot!"

Then Miroku said something that really caught him off guard.

"You'll fit right in with us!"

His call cut both of them off, and it seemed he'd stopped Kagome from giving Inuyasha another tongue-lashing as she let out an airy "What?" at the same time as him.

What was Miroku thinking? Certainly he didn't mean what Inuyasha _thought_ he meant...

"You know that saying, Kagome? The oh-so-annoying-yet-oh-so-appropriate one?" Sango said abruptly, drawing both adult's attention to her once again.

"Huh? Well, not really, no." the girl said, and Inuyasha could feel a sense of apprehension growing; a sense of alarm.

"You've never heard of 'finder's keeper's loser's weepers'? I can't believe that!" Sango exclaimed, and Inuyasha immediately knew what she was getting at. She, Sango, only used that saying on very rare occasions, and every time she did it usually meant Inuyasha had lost something to her clutches or something like what he thought currently was about to happen. It had only occurred twice before.

"Anyway," she continued "what Miroku is saying and what I'm going to tell you is that at Michinori College everyone always has these cliques and groups and gangs they hang out in. Usually the first day of college is reserved for the newbies to find their groups, but seeing as you're here now, and you're new, and you're with us, we get first dibs on you. So, how about it Kagome? You want to stick around with us?"

Inuyasha couldn't help the protest that escaped him, an immediate reaction to something that could end up being very bad for him.

"What? You can't be serious! Her, with us! How stupid!"

He would have continued, but the curiously cheerful words from Kagome brought him up short.

"R-really? You, you're going to be my friends?"

Inuyasha looked at her meaning to give her the dirtiest glare he could muster, but instead could only stare. She looked so unbelievably _happy_, like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She seemed to have completely forgotten her previous argument with Inuyasha in favor for something much bigger, and a smile made her look completely different. Up until then, all he had seen was her wrathful expression, now he was looking at a completely different Kagome who seemed genuinely excited for the news she was receiving. Something that would only reinforce Sango's resolve to include her in their group.

"Of course!" Sango cried expectantly, "Anybody who can handle Inuyasha has to be a saint, and you can handle him, let me tell you!"

"Hey!" Inuyasha snarled, reacting to the insult like he would any other from his friends. He didn't take it seriously, he never did, but he got the feeling from those words that she and him were okay. It meant he didn't have to apologize anymore.

"I'm not exactly a saint, but honestly I'd be, well, frankly, I'd be honored to be your friend," she said shyly, and Inuyasha believed her. With a look like that on her face, who wouldn't?

"Honored! She'd be honored! You hear that Miroku? Kagome is ours!"

The two cheered outrageously, but the pair behind them were completely silent. One in a joyous air thinking only one thing and feeling a thousand. The other just staring at the girl beside him, wondering what would happen next. Wondering if and when she would discover _he wasn't human_.

_Sorry...all the Inuyasha parts seem to be very-short-in comparison to Kagome's perspective. Also, sorry it took so long to post; surprisingly, I've been busy..._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**Add an Insult**

During the time it took for the four college students to reach the residence of the American Higurashis, Inuyasha said not another word; instead preferring to glare sullenly out the window beside him. His friends chattered aimlessly the entire way, but he wasn't listening. While the car rolled along he was too busy trying to figure out a way to get Mrs. Chiaki to help him with his current problem.

It really wasn't a big issue, his dilemma, and already many times he'd painstakingly asked the woman for help and was each time turned down. But at this point he had to get her help; she was the only person who could do anything about it-or at least would dare to. The teacher of Home Improvement and Decor was possibly the only person his bastard of a brother respected even in the slightest, and there was a reason for that.

To anyone who ever met Mrs. Chiaki K. Higurashi, she was the happiest, most chipper person on the planet every day all day 24/7. But not many people knew her bad side. When angry, she would rip your lungs out, crush your heart, tear your nails from your fingers, and still leave time to give you a major tongue-lashing as she peeled the skin from your body. Not literally, of course, but that's what it felt like. Fortunately, Inuyasha had only experienced a small part of that, mainly the scolding and nail-tearing, but an unlucky Sesshoumaru had gone through her wrath in full with Inuyasha watching along with a select other few unfortunates.

Now with Sesshoumaru's wariness of the woman, if Inuyasha wanted his predicament unraveled Mrs. Chiaki was his best solution. A few words and a warning from her, and Sesshoumaru would finally let Inuyasha live in peace-or at least that was what the hanyou hoped.

"Aha, here we are Kagome," Miroku announced abruptly, pulling an unwilling Inuyasha from his muddled thoughts.

Sitting up, he glanced out the window as his friends and Kagome piled out of the car from the vehicle's unexpected halt, blinking at the incredibly ordinary-looking house they had driven up to.

Inuyasha had only visited Mrs. Chiaki three times before, and of the three only once had been by his choice-all the other visits had been forced on him by over-enthusiastic friends. The last time he had seen his teacher outside of college had been when he had helped her, Mr. Masuyo, and the squirt move into the house Miroku had currently parked at. During that time, he had thought the place a dump with overgrown grass and missing siding on the outer walls. In the few months since he had last been here, however, the house had changed dramatically. The lawn was clean cut and all the same dark, healthy shade of green; the original siding of the house had been torn down and replaced with a more neutral, less gaudy color (it had been faded lavender); and there was a stained-wood fence surrounding the quarter acre lot's backyard and sides, leaving the front open. A large willow, the same that he had thought worthy of fire fuel, had been trimmed and now stood with evenly cut branches swaying slightly in the light breeze.

Overall, the yard was mostly empty save for a small flowerbed below the front window full of orchids and unusually colored tulips. It was much better looking than it he had been the last time he saw it.

As Miroku talked to Kagome in front of the car; no doubt "Being Miroku"; Inuyasha sighed in a way that could have been called a groan and slipped out of the car. For some reason, he had a sudden feeling of dread; like something bad was going to happen soon, and it wasn't Sango smacking Miroku upside the head-actually, that happened so often it was almost a tradition-but instead of acknowledging the sensation he decided to disregard it. No doubt his ignorance would be a mistake in the future, but at the moment he just didn't care. He'd been dumped, yelled at Sango and been yelled at, watched Kikyou receive her "products", and now he had another lousy human to deal with. What else could possibly happen that would make his life worse than it already was?

"Kagome, you're here!" Chiaki shouted, catching the attentions of the four adults. Walking up to stand beside Miroku, the two men watched as their teacher enveloped Kagome and Sango in an enormous, simultaneous, hug. "Oh, and you brought Sango, Miroku, and even Inuyasha! My, oh my, oh me, I wonder how you managed such a feat! Inuyasha never drops by unless I have Sango and Miroku drag him here, and even then it's hard to get them to come by!"

"Hello aunt Chiaki," Kagome said simply, smiling politely at the woman.

"Well then, come in all of you, come in, come in!" Chiaki gasped, releasing the two women and bounding back into the house, the ends of her kimono ribbon waving at them to follow.

Taking his jolly-good time, Inuyasha followed behind with his hands deep in his pockets and his eyes warily scanning the neighborhood. Times had changed from when he was much...younger...but they were still dangerous; he would rather not be caught off-guard. Nonetheless, it didn't surprise him that he saw nothing out of the ordinary; demons without human forms rarely appeared nowadays, and even when they did manage such a difficult feat, they always disappeared before people had any idea what they'd seen. On the other hand he decided to keep an eye on the husky that watched him silently from Mrs. Chiaki's rightward neighbor's yard. It looked odd; but then again the wolf-like dogs always seemed smarter than they really were. Or perhaps he was just paranoid.

Removing his shoes and tucking them into a corner by the door upon entering the home, when he looked up and saw how un-ordinary the house was inside, he wasn't too shocked. Mrs. Chiaki was as un-ordinary as a person could be; why shouldn't her house match? Not for the first time he wondered how Masuyo managed to put up with her all the time.

"Okay, Kagome follow me, the rest of you stay here." Mrs. Chiaki said, and then turned her attention momentarily to the squirt as he bounded into the front room. "Shippo, get some snacks out for the guests. Now, come along Kagome."

As the two walked off, the squirt turned and smiled at Miroku and Sango, "Alright then, come on!" he said cheerily, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes as they trailed the teen into the Japanese-style kitchen. It wasn't that he _disliked_ Shippo; the kid just had a tendency to get on his nerves.

Settling himself in the far corner of the dining room, beside the paper doors that no doubt led to the backyard, and facing the door they'd entered the room through, Inuyasha crossed his legs and folded his arms stubbornly, still irked about the direction his day had taken. All he wanted to do was talk to Mrs. Chiaki and leave, but no, he had to sit here and wait God-knew-how-long it took for "Kagome" to finish. Then, when he finally did have a chance to talk to Mrs. Chiaki, he would probably have to wait until Miroku and Sango had spoken with the Home Improvement and Decor college teacher before he was able to leave-that was a problem with car-pooling; if you were the unfortunate passenger, and not the driver, you had to wait for the friend with the keys to take you home-although, he could just walk or run back to the dorm whenever he wanted, he preferred not to call attention to himself. He was too fast for natural humans, and slowing down was too much of a pain.

"Oi, Inuyasha!" Miroku called, shoving a bag of chips under his nose, "How bout coming back to join us bugs? Hmm? It's definitely got to be a lot more fun than what's running through your head right about now, am I right?"

Settling himself on the opposite side of the _kotatsu_, Shippo nodded and stuck a Funyun into his mouth. "Knowing Inuyasha, he's probably got his head stuck up in the clouds somewhere, staring at the little pink ponies and playing with the Red Fairies like a-Ow!"

Settling back against the wall, Inuyasha smirked slightly in a way that brandished his fangs. "Next time, Shippo, I'll throw something much sharper than my keys." he snarled threateningly, lifting the jangling projectiles lazily into his hand from their place on the table's varnished mesa.

Rubbing his arm forlornly, Shippo stuck an obtrusive tongue out at Inuyasha before whisking his attention away and towards Sango.

Tucking his keys back into his pocket, Inuyasha irritably swiped the chips Miroku still proffered and began eating the salty, greasy, crispy potato slices vigorously, trying hard to ignore the conversation going on next to him. Something about the difference between fighting with illusions or straight-out, clean weaponry. Personally, he would choose weapons any day, but he wasn't about to show any interest in the discussion.

As he sulked, the time seeming to drag as he dully stuffed his face with snacks, his sensitive ears finally picked up the sound of shuffling feet long before "Kagome" and Mrs. Chiaki entered the room. Looking at his watch he immediately discovered that they had only been gone a few minutes, but spoke his irritation anyway.

"Are you guys done yet?" he snapped, popping another potato chip into his gaping maw.

"Ha!" Kagome hissed unexpectedly, though why he was surprised he didn't know. He'd already discovered the girl had fire in her, but what she said next brought the feeling of foreboding he'd had back to surface. "Why don't you just go catch a squirrel, dog boy!"

The room became suddenly silent, and though Inuyasha wasn't the most perceptive pup in the bunch, he could tell all of them were thinking the same thing.

_How did she find out?_

As though she could feel the rising tension, Kagome stuttered out a nervous question. "What? Why are you all looking at me like that? Did I say something...weird?"

Wondering if she truly had just plainly insulted him-which for some reason didn't bother him any-Inuyasha was preparing to speak when of a sudden Masuyo entered the room and solved their problem with his oppressive aura and quick explanation.

"Your attitude just surprises them," he muttered, stepping around Kagome.

If he hadn't been so dumbfounded by the realization that she really didn't know what he was, Inuyasha would have laughed. As it was, though, nobody was smiling in anything but relief. There would be no long explanations and screams today; at least not yet-and hopefully not ever.

The first to recover, Miroku called cheerfully "Ah, friend Masuyo, good to see you! How's our good chum Hachi doing?"

Acknowledging the greeting with a nod, Masuyo settled himself opposite Miroku. "As useless and ignorant as the first time you brought him to Me." he said stiffly, and for Masuyo that was as good a cheerful voice as anyone was going to get.

Still feeling slightly unbalanced by Kagome's insult, Inuyasha stood and, undetected by the conversation-absorbed group, walked toward Mrs. Chiaki determined to get his request voiced.

"You finished with stupid, Mrs. Chiaki?" he asked, coming up to the woman, "I need to talk to you."

"Now, now Inuyasha, let's talk nicely about people! It's not good to call them names!" She snapped unexpectedly, causing the points under Inuyasha's cap to flatten in surprise.

Pretending to be unbothered by the uncharacteristic tone of Mrs. Chiaki's voice, Inuyasha just shrugged before following her through the sliding door, sneering as he walked past Kagome.

"Flea-bag,"

The mutter nearly made him lose his temper, and he almost whirled to face the girl's non-stop, irritating name-calling but, lucky enough, Mrs. Chiaki managed to drag him out of the room and shut the paper door before he had the chance.

"Come along, Inuyasha," Mrs. Chiaki said, still speaking in her unusual tone.

"Damn it, does she know or doesn't she?" Inuyasha growled, "First she says one thing then acts all innocent-like after! Stupid, ignorant little-"

"Inuyasha!" Mrs. Chiaki hissed, rounding on him reproachfully. "That is enough; whether she knows or not isn't the problem right now, the problem is your insensitive tramp of a girlfriend!"

Jaw dropping in his shock, Inuyasha felt ashamed he should want to defend Kikyou, but what Mrs. Chiaki had said occupied too much of his mind to come up with a proper retort. It wasn't her words, exactly, that surprised him, it was the fact that they came from her. Of course, she had always made clear she never liked his ex-in fact, she had told Kikyou she disliked her straight out-but never had she actually deigned to speak ill of her. It was like she'd taken his words describing Kagome, worsened them, and then applied it to a completely different person. It was almost incredible.

"What do you mean?" he asked, surprising himself with his calm voice.

"That little whore dared stop by yesterday to ask for money, and like the idiot I was I gave her some, and do you know what she spent it on? Not groceries like she said she was going to, but drugs! Alcohol, marijuana, tobacco; I don't care what she bought, but it irks me to no end that she used _my_ money to pay for it! It's utterly insulting! And what's worse, she made it a point that the groceries weren't for her, but for you! Otherwise I wouldn't have given her any! If that's not reason enough to get rid of her I don't know what is! The lying little...little...wench!" she snarled, and it was only then that Inuyasha realized she was speaking in English, and he could do naught but wonder at her cleverness. In speaking the American language, she ensured that at least one person would have no idea what she was saying and the others would either not care or hear depending on her volume. But more than her intelligence, Inuyasha marveled at her audacity and ill words. Even after recovering from the initial surprise of her anger, he couldn't bring himself to counter her words; especially since that though she had been the one to break their relationship, Kikyou _still_ pretended they were together.

As Mrs. Chiaki inhaled to continue her rant, Inuyasha leapt at the opportunity to speak, and his words made the woman exhale like a deflated balloon.

"Mrs. Chiaki, we...broke up...the day before yesterday." he said, imitating her English speech.

This time, it was her jaw that fell, and the anger in her face dissipated and turned into something akin to embarrassment. However, when she realized what Inuyasha already had, the fury returned with more power than before.

"I've been duped!" Chiaki shouted, and though her face gave every appearance of rage, her tone was the complete opposite. Again, her cleverness amazed him; to anyone hearing, they'd think she was kidding.

Inuyasha didn't say anything, but instead decided to stay silent until the woman had decided to calm down a bit. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he bowed his head and watched her tapping foot. Many a student of Mrs. Chiaki's had learned what The Tapping Foot meant, and it was at those times that a student had best remain silent while she scolded or run as fast as they could when she encountered them. As he watched, waiting, her foot finally began to slow until; at last, she took a deep breath, placed a calming hand on her cheek, and then exhaled.

When he looked back at her face, she was smiling again.

"Now that I've got that out of my system, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"No, Inuyasha, I will_ not _do it." Mrs. Chiaki said firmly, "I am not your mother, I am your teacher, and as a teacher I believe that to get something, someone has to work for it. If you want your brother to leave you alone, then I think you have to go the distance and tell him yourself. Not to mention it is hardly my place to order about my superior."

"Your superior? Are you kidding?" Inuyasha scoffed, "Let me put it this way, you're the only person besides Rin that my god damned brother will listen to even in the slightest! You think I haven't tried what you're suggesting already?"

Mrs. Chiaki merely smiled, "Well that depends; did you ask him nicely?"

Inuyasha's jaw dropped. "_Nicely_?" he strained the word, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

"Ah, just I thought!" she laughed.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak, but a loud screech from the dining room brought him up short.

"_Tomorrow_? Classes start _tomorrow_? _Since when_? I never heard about it! I don't even know where my classes are!" cried the distinguishable voice of one Kagome, "Oh damn it this is a disaster! What a way to start college!"

"Oh me, this is a problem!" Mrs. Chiaki muttered, heading off to deal with the crisis. Before pulling the paper door open, she turned back to Inuyasha with a slightly sympathetic look. "Just try asking nicely, Inuyasha, you never know what could happen." Then she disappeared.

Stunned to silence, Inuyasha stared at the spot Mrs. Chiaki had previously occupied.

"_Nicely_?" he repeated, "my ass! That's never gonna happen!" And then headed for the same doors.

_Sorry this chapter took so long; I moved unexpectedly and hadn't finished the chapter to post. Plus I've been lazy._

_This chapter isn't the best because it was rushed and I've been having troubles with it. I'm not the greatest person right now, and writing Inuyasha's perspective kinda sucks for me. Usually I don't mind, but for some reason it's gotten more difficult._

_Anyway, hopefully the next chapter will be posted within the next few weeks._

_Thanks!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**The Bright Side of Things**

"Flea bag," she hissed from under her breath as the white-haired adult past her by, somewhat hoping he wouldn't hear while at the same time wanting him to. As soon as the words left her mouth she saw him turn slightly as though to snap back, a clear sign he had in fact heard, but Kagome, who was slightly relieved to notice, saw Chiaki's hand reach out and pull him out of the room behind her. Honestly, Kagome didn't know how she was coming up with so many insults-all of them canine-related, she realized-but at least she _was_ coming up with stuff, right? Any other time, she would only be able to flounder helplessly as she tried to create a comeback of some sort, which would in turn make her out to be a hopeless idiot. But with him it was as easy as clapping her hands; and, in a small way, she _enjoyed_ it. And after her talk with Chiaki, Kagome Higurashi was in a _much_ better mood. With a few words from her aunt, many of her problems had been solved such as where she would do her laundry or take a bath when she needed one. A bath wasn't a big issue overall but knowing she could take one at times did make her feel better.

"So, um, Kagome," Sango stammered quietly so only Kagome could hear as she sat next to Sango. "What did you mean by the whole 'dog-boy' thing?"

"Huh?" Kagome said as she was pulled from her thoughts. As her new friend's words registered in her mind, she began to wonder why, each time she retorted after Inuyasha's words, everyone became so quiet or uncomfortable. Did he have a bad experience with dogs or something? Come to think of it, he was eyeing that husky earlier with a strange expression... Clearing her throat, Kagome decided it best to answer Sango's question as simply as possible. "Is that what set you guys off? Seriously? It was just a stupid comment; honestly, I was only trying to insult the brainless bastard. I didn't mean anything by it."

Sango blinked and Miroku, who had been talking to Masuyo and skillfully eavesdropping on the two girls, burst out laughing.

"Well at least she's honest about what she feels," he snickered, cutting off what he'd been saying to Masuyo to turn his attention momentarily to the women and dodging a warning punch from Sango.

Kagome smiled slightly, already becoming used to the antics of her two friends. She'd been surprised at first when Sango had hit Miroku when they'd only arrived at the American Higurashis', but now that she thought about it she supposed Sango's actions were justified. After all, the style-less, purple-gloved _idiot_ had asked her for a _kiss_ in exchange for gas money! Kagome was sure it was a joke, but at the time she'd been just a _tad_ nervous and if not for Sango, she wasn't sure what would have happened.

"So Kagome, what class do you have first tomorrow?" Miroku asked when Masuyo got up and walked to the kitchen, successfully bringing the two's conversation to an end.

With a chip halfway to her mouth, Kagome froze unexpectedly when Miroku had finished speaking, dropping the food she had been about to eat as she jumped to her feet.

"_Tomorrow_? Classes start _tomorrow_?" she shrieked, eyes wide with panic. "Since when? I never heard about it! I don't even know where my classes even are! Oh damn it, this is a disaster! What a way to start college!"

With tears beginning to sting her eyes the panicked adult flopped back down on the floor and wrapped her arms around her legs, burying her face in her knees. Her ears burned in embarrassment of her show of astonishment and fear-fear she had hoped had long since gone.

"Goodness gracious me, what was all that shouting?" Chiaki exploded through the sliding door, her face frantic. Kagome was slightly surprised that with the snatches of conversation she understood from what the woman had said to Inuyasha, Chiaki had retained her happy air-if slightly anxious from her niece's outburst. But that fact wasn't the thing at the head of Kagome's mind.

"Kagome was just having a panic attack," Shippo replied calmly as he stood to refill his water glass.

"Panic attack? About what, dear?" Chiaki cried, bringing herself to a kneeling position beside her fear-stricken niece.

"It appears that Ms. Kagome here doesn't know where her classes are," Miroku sighed, shrugging sadly.

Chiaki looked at the young adult a moment before turning to face her niece, a look of realization and fright crossing over her features.

"That's right! Oh me! I forgot all about that didn't I?" she said, "My goodness, Kagome, I'm so sorry! What'll I do, what'll I do!"

Sent into a state of shock, Kagome merely sat and let herself be coddled by her aunt, eyes wide and rarely blinking. All she _could_ do was repeatedly think '_Classes start tomorrow. I don't know where my classes are. Classes start tomorrow. I don't know where my classes are_...'

"You know, Mrs. Chiaki," Sango interrupted, cutting her teacher off mid-shriek. "You could just have Inuyasha show her her classes before they start tomorrow. I mean, Kagome told me her schedule and everything and as far as I know she and Inuyasha have almost all the same classes, and they both start classes at noon." she said, jabbing her thumb at the white-haired dim-wit as he entered the room.

"_What_?" Inuyasha asked, eyes narrowing. "I thought I heard something stupid come from your mouth, Sango, say again?"

"Why that's a wonderful idea!" Chiaki exclaimed before Sango could get a word in. Clapping her hands excitedly, the woman turned to her niece with a quickly spreading smile. "Did you hear that, Kagome dear? Inuyasha will show you your classes tomorrow! Isn't that just beautiful!"

As she slowly rose from her state of shock, Kagome wasn't so sure she agreed.

"You know, Mrs. Chiaki, you could just have Inuyasha show her her classes before they start tomorrow. I mean, Kagome told me her schedule and everything and as far as I know she and Inuyasha have almost all the same classes, and they both start classes at noon."

If his ears hadn't been secured by the cap on his head, they would have sat bolt upright. He heard Sango's words clearly, and he suddenly knew that the foreboding he felt wasn't because of Mrs. Chiaki's answer to his request. It was this.

"What?" he asked as he squinted angrily at his friend, "I thought I heard something stupid come from your mouth, Sango, say again?"

Sango gave him one of her sweet smiles and took Miroku's hand. She started to speak, but before she could get out even a syllable their college teacher cut in.

"Why that's a wonderful idea!" she squealed, clapping her hands like some excited teenager who just discovered a $1,000 paycheck in her mailbox. "Did you hear that, Kagome dear? Inuyasha will show you your classes tomorrow! Isn't that beautiful!"

'_Beautiful my ass!_' The hanyou thought skeptically, glaring at all of them.

"Why me?" he snarled, "Since Sango wants to be so charitable, why doesn't _she_ show '_Kagome'_ her classes!" his amber eyes bored holes into Sango's bluish-brown, daring her to persist in her earlier suggestion.

"Inuyasha, Hun, I _work_ tomorrow. My classes start at _six_. I _can't_ show Kagome her rooms." she replied.

Sucking in a breath, Inuyasha raised his head defiantly, "The-then have Miroku do it!"

"Sorry, Inuyasha," Miroku said, smiling slightly as he sipped his drink, "But I'm in class in the mornings."

Suppressing his growl with difficulty, Inuyasha was about to turn to Mrs. Chiaki but stopped in his tracks. Though she was smiling comfortingly at her niece, the woman smelled sharply of "no-and-don't-even-think-about-asking-me". After her earlier refusal to help him, he wasn't surprised, and decided it best not to try and change her mind. She didn't seem like she was in the mood to do him any favors.

"Come now, Inuyasha," Chiaki said, nearly making him jump as she pierced him with a daring glare, "how hard can it be?"

Huffing in defeat, Inuyasha sat himself heavily in the doorway as he waited for Sango and Miroku (and Kagome; oh no, he couldn't forget _her_) to be ready to leave. '_Oh, "how hard can it be", Mrs. Chiaki? Well, not hard at all if you have nothing important to keep hidden!_' he thought sourly, glaring at his new "friend". '_Yeah, right, this'll be easy as pie_!'

Sango wasn't sure why she said it; after all, she knew the risks all too well, but she highly doubted that Kagome would find out Inuyasha's secret so quickly. After all, he was only going to show her her classes. And really, how hard_ could _it be?

However, that didn't stop her white-haired friend from sulking the entire trip back to the C-dorms. He said not a word, didn't even move, and if he hadn't had to blink every now and then she would have thought him-well-dead. Or at least an immovable boulder with such a stubborn attitude a mule would envy him.

"Hey, Sango?" Kagome asked as they got out of the BMW upon reaching the dorm building.

"Yeah?" the adult replied, casting a reproachful glance at the hanyou's back as he marched away from them accompanied by Miroku.

"Are you sure its okay to let...'_Inuyasha'_...show me my classes tomorrow?" she finished.

Confused, Sango turned her attention to her new friend. "Of course, why do you ask? It's not like he has anything better to do."

"I don't know," Kagome shrugged as she walked around the car to join the other woman in their walk to the dorm building. "He just doesn't seem to like me all the much, and to be honest I don't really like him either. It just seems like it's more trouble than its worth; I could just find my classes on my own or something..."

"Uh-uh, Kagome. You might not have noticed, but Michinori is a very confusing place to be in if you don't know the layout. I guess that's why they're letting students who don't have classes during the morning go to the school, so they can find them properly, but I don't recommend you try looking for classes by yourself then; it'll be too congested and a waste of time." Sango said, following Kagome up the stairs to the second level. "I admit I kinda lied about you and Inuyasha having the same classes, but yours are located near his so I figured it would be okay. Oh, and don't worry about him not liking you; he doesn't like anybody at first-or he just doesn't care to-but don't worry, he'll get over it."

_'I hope,'_ she added to herself, smiling comfortingly at the girl walking next to her.

"...he'll get over it," Sango finished as they reached the top of the stairs, and Kagome could tell the encouraging smile she gave her was slightly strained.

"Uh-huh," Kagome said miserably, scratching the back of her head.

_'I doubt it,' _she thought critically, noting the strain in her friend's smile as nothing good.

_'But at least he's going to help,'_ another part of her pointed out.

_'Yeah, and make it absolutely miserable at the same time.'_ she argued.

_'You're such a negative wench aren't you?'_

_'Don't call me a wench!' _she shrieked automatically.

"Kagome? Are you alright? You look like a little pale," Sango commented.

Pulled from her pessimistic conversation with herself, Kagome blushed and laughed in an attempt to brush it off.

"No I'm, fine, thanks. Hey, you want to have some lunch? I don't have much, but I could whip something up if you're hungry." she replied quickly, taking her keys from her pocket.

"Sounds great!" Sango grinned.

Kagome didn't miss the relieved expression.

"You don't seem very happy," Miroku commented, following his speeding friend across the green campus. He wasn't sure where they were headed, but the general direction seemed to be the college entrance. Why Inuyasha would go there, he had no idea-his brother tended to make him want to steer clear-but Miroku wasn't exactly interested in that.

"Keh," Inuyasha replied, teeth clicking shut in his irritation.

"Which I don't quite understand," he continued, and then clearly referred to what he assumed was the reason for Inuyasha's frustration, even if the allusion was done in a roundabout kind of way—well, at least roundabout for him. "With a body like that, I for one wouldn't mind showing her her classes..."

"You're not fucking helping, perv." Inuyasha snapped over his shoulder, dodging a rotting log bench in his rapid approach of the school.

"I'm just saying you should look on the bright side of things." Miroku smiled innocently as he quickened his steps in hopes of keeping up with his unhappy friend.

"Well your version of the 'bright side' doesn't do _me_ any good," the hanyou grumbled.

Stepping onto the sidewalk, Miroku realized they were definitely heading towards the college entrance, and he knew just as well as the next guy that beyond the entrance doors was the office, and in the office resided the intimidating presence of Sesshoumaru. _'Well this is definitely...unexpected.'_

"Come now, you aren't still thinking about that incident with Koharu are you? That was a complete accident, after all,"

"Accident my ass!"

"That's what Koharu thought, too," Miroku snickered.

His smile broadening at the irate growl that subsequently emanated from his friend, Miroku followed Inuyasha into Michinori College barely escaping being crushed by the glass door as Inuyasha flung it open with a violence that surprised Miroku, especially when the steel-framed glass didn't break. After dodging his death he followed the hanyou into the office and down the hall to the cold atmosphere of Sesshoumaru's workplace.

"Oi, asshole! Open up!" Inuyasha shouted as he banged his fist against the grey slab of imitation wood, barely missing the engraving stamped in the door's center.

An eyebrow raised in a curious examination of Inuyasha's mood, Miroku tore his gaze from Inuyasha when the door his friend pounded on opened to reveal an expressionless Sesshoumaru-expressionless save for an unmistakable glint of annoyance in his cold, empty golden eyes.

"Inuyasha," he said icily, his gaze flickering momentarily to Miroku in slight acknowledgment of the pony tailed adult's presence.

Barely stopping himself from punching his brother "accidentally" at the door's sudden opening, Inuyasha straightened to his full height in an attempt to appear superior to the youkai before him. He almost managed it, except his temper and tone ruined the success-and the fact he was shorter, if only just.

"Bastard, I need to talk to you." he snarled, nose wrinkling in apparent disgust.

"Why else would you be here," Sesshoumaru said, and Miroku struggled to hide an amazed grin at the hint of sarcasm in the usually emotionless youkai's voice.

"In there," Inuyasha added, pointing a clawed finger at the room behind the vice principal.

After giving his younger brother an empty stare, Sesshoumaru turned and walked back the way he'd come and sitting rather elegantly in his cheap, college-purchased, black and gray swivel chair.

Miroku attempted to follow when Inuyasha entered the room, but a slammed door that barely touched the tip of his nose made him change his mind. If he tried to open the door now and follow, he might lose more than the rest of his nose. Still, he was curious as to what in the world could bring Inuyasha to visit his brother. So, with practice earned in doing the perverse act of peeping, Miroku placed his ear against the door to listen in while still being wary of the goings on around him. If someone came down the hall or into the office, he would know and move himself into a more inconspicuous position-such as leaning against the wall or sitting lazily on the floor opposite of the door while appearing bored.

When Inuyasha began talking, however, he soon learned he didn't have to put his ear to the door to hear him.

Inuyasha felt stupid and angry as hell. He couldn't believe what he was about to do and all he wanted was instead to leave and take a nap in his room or something. Watch the television maybe-the weather channel-anything but this.

"You get on my nerves, ass face," he snarled in an attempt to make his situation more favorable. Not that insulting his brother really did any good; the bastard never reacted to anything he said.

"I am busy, Inuyasha; what do you want?" Sesshoumaru said abruptly and Inuyasha sensed the youkai's displeasure.

"What do I want, huh?" Inuyasha repeated, a vicious smile curling the corners of his mouth, "I want you to leave me alone. Stop bugging me all the time. What I do is none of your business!"

_'Aw, to hell with all of this shit! Advice, advice, this isn't the advice she gave you, numbskull. Nice...nice...nice...' _Sucking in a deep breath, Inuyasha forced himself to calm down, to try rebuilding the fragmented and unsupported bridge of his temper. _'Come on, it can't be _that_ hard to be_ nice_, people do it all the time! If they can do it, so can you! It'll be easy! Come on!'_

"Is that all?" Sesshoumaru queried, placing his elbows on his desk and obscuring the lower half of his face with interlinked fingers, golden eyes staring placidly at the hanyou.

"No!" Inuyasha snapped, nearly biting his tongue. _'Nice, nice'_

"Sesshoumaru," he said tightly, struggling to keep his voice as neutral as possible-which meant not at all as he couldn't help the acid disgust in his tone. The vice principal of Michinori College just watched Inuyasha with a slightly raised eyebrow. "I want you to leave me alone..."

Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to speak, but was immediately silenced.

By one word.

"Please."

Inuyasha could have vomited.

Miroku yelped quietly and humorously and covered his mouth with his purple-gloved hand, stepping away from the door in the most ungainly fashion until his back was against the far wall. It was hard not to laugh, and his shoulders shook from the effort.

Had he imagined it?

Had Inuyasha really said what Miroku thought he had?

Had Inuyasha, the stubborn, temperamental, irate hanyou, really just say "please"?

It was almost too much!

He coughed a cough mixed with laughter and stumbled toward the front of the office where he plopped himself into a chair. Bending over with a hand still over his mouth, Miroku shook from head to foot, trying desperately to get a hold of himself before Inuyasha emerged. If his friend found him like this now, he would know for sure that Miroku had been listening in. And if that happened, Miroku doubted he would survive the rest of the day; but even so, it was too hard to just stop the comical knowledge of _Inuyasha_ saying _please_.

He certainly had something to tell Sango later.

_Author's Note_

_I just wanted to try a different style because, to be honest, my own writing was confusing me going from Kagome to Inuyasha and back, and having their perspectives on the same day. It got old fast for me. Hopefully this makes it easier and more entertaining, especially since there's more variety instead of just Kagome and Inuyasha. Perhaps I'll add a little Kikyou or Shippo or Sesshoumaru or Chiaki perspective. Maybe._

_Hopefully you all like this better. If not…well…perhaps I'll try to do more Inuyasha and Kagome and less of the others. Or maybe spread out the perspectives more._

_Also, I did a crappy job of editing and reading this one over because I was really rushing. So it's probably not great—just like all my recent chapters. Someday maybe I'll fix them, just not now. Not until I finish this story. And I WILL finish it. Promise._

_Anyway, thanks to all who like this story and have read thus far._

_I'll, again, try to get chapter nine up soon. No promises on this though, I'm too lazy for that._

_Thanks!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

**Sitting by a Tree**

"I'm going to kill someone today, I swear it!" Kagome muttered groggily from beneath her bedcovers as she reached out with one hand to stop the insistent beeping of her new alarm clock; the same in which Sango had so charitably given her before they had parted at Sango's door just nine hours before:

_"I can't take this, Sango; I'll just buy my own later. Thanks, though," Kagome had said, clasping her hands behind her back to keep them from snatching the gleaming silver machine out of her new friend's hands._

_"Come on, Kagome, take it! I just got a new one, so it's not that big a deal," Sango shrugged, "not that I'm giving you crap or anything, I just got sick of the tone on this one so I bought myself a new alarm. It's in perfect working order, anyway. Please?"_

_"Mm..." Kagome tapped her chin as though she were thinking about it though it didn't take her long to contemplate something she had already made her decision on. "Okay, sure, thanks a lot Sango!"_

Now Kagome was wishing she'd straight out refused. The high-pitched beeping that threatened to burst her eardrums really wasn't as sickening as Sango had said. It was _worse_. Moaning tiredly, Kagome first stopped the alarm from continuing its devilish song before swiping it onto her floor altogether. She hadn't necessarily meant any harm to the inanimate object; she had just wanted to show it what she thought of it and that was all. But when it hit the floor it made possibly the worst noise she had ever heard, even worse than its tone: a sound of crumpling metal and snapping circuits that brutally assaulted her aching head. Droopy-eyed, Kagome sat up and looked over to see the damage she'd done to her "new" alarm clock.

At the sight she merely fell back onto her mattress, defeated. The pieces had scattered clear to her door and under her bed, though "luckily" the majority was centered on the place of impact. Her day couldn't _get_ any better.

First off, she had a hangover from the alcohol Miroku had delivered along with a sullen-looking Inuyasha last night; secondly her ears _still_ rang with the incessant pinging of her alarm, and now she had a mess to clean up that consisted of the minuscule pieces of said alarm. It didn't help that she started classes today in a new school and _Inuyasha_ was still going to show her around.

_"Eight o'clock, got it, stupid?" he'd growled, moments before disappearing into his room-which just so happened to be directly across from hers._

_"I got it," she'd barely managed to say, "And don't call me stupid!" she'd added in a shout, "My name is Kagome! Ka-go-me!"_

"This is just wonderful," she groaned, carefully getting out of bed to avoid stepping on any sharp bits of alarm clock, a hand held to her throbbing head. "First day of school and I have a _hangover_! So much for good impressions."

Slowly, so as not to disturb her aching cranium, Kagome gathered fresh clothes and underwear and entered her bathroom where she immediately stripped and turned the water on as hot as she could get it before immediately stepping under the spray. At first the water was freezing cold and she shivered uncontrollably, but it quickly heated and she tilted her head back so that the steaming water would beat the sore area of her head. Usually she would have taken a hot bath, but as she only had this shower and limited time to take it, she would have to make do. Although when she was _finally_ finished, she found herself feeling unnaturally refreshed, and though her head still had a slight throb to it the ache had almost completely disappeared. She felt better not only physically, but mentally as well and dried and dressed herself with renewed vigor.

Fully clad she skipped out of the bathroom and into the kitchen where she ate a quick breakfast of American cereals and toast—which didn't taste half bad accompanied by her current attitude. Then, only when she was sure she had stuffed everything she needed into her banana-yellow backpack, did she go over her mental checklist one last time—making sure she'd gotten everything—before shutting off all lights and leaving her dorm room with her backpack slung over one shoulder and her keys in her hand.

Giving her watch one last glance, she strode up purposefully to Inuyasha's door.

"Eight o'clock, eight o'clock, eight o'clock!" Kagome called repeatedly, pounding on his door. "Come on bonehead wake up!"

"Shut up, wench! I'm awake!" he shouted back, his voice muffled through the door.

"Then hurry up and get out here!" she said, reacting mainly to the insult he seemed to have decided was her name.

"I'll come out when I come out," he snarled, opening the door and glaring at her.

Kagome blinked and her shoulders dropped as she gave him an empty look. "You could have gotten dressed," she said, indicating the fact he was only wearing a pair of black sweats and a knit cap.

"I would have," he snapped, "but you just _insisted_ I come out _right now_; enjoying the view little miss alarm clock?"

"Not in the slightest;" she lied, hoping she wasn't blushing, "just go back in and get dressed and do whatever you do to get ready in the morning. I can wait." She finished as she turned and leaned against the wall next to his door, crossing her arms over her ribs in a show of patience.

"You can wait? Could have fooled me," he muttered, raising an eyebrow at her, "You're just going to stand there and wait the ten-odd minutes it takes me to get _dressed_?" he sneered, his nose wrinkling in skepticism.

"Sure, why not? I mean, I'm _only _on time. After all, _you_ told me to be ready by _eight_ so _I_ was ready by _eight_." she replied sourly.

"Well then, you're just going to have to learn that nobody actually expects you to be on time around here," he growled back almost incomprehensibly as he shut the door, "in good America when I say 'eight', I mean 'nine'."

"Well then, maybe next time you should tell me nine instead of eight." Kagome retorted loudly. "Or at least inform me of the customs of time in 'good America' _before_ you say 'eight o'clock'."

"I _assumed_ you knew," he called through the door.

"_Hello_ dumb ass, I just arrived here _three days ago_, you can't expect me to know stuff like that already!" she snapped back, pleased when he didn't reply.

The silence only lasted until Inuyasha opened the door dressed and jingling his keys. "There, now we can go."

"This day is _so_ going to suck," Kagome groaned under her breath, completely missing the look of derision on Inuyasha's face as she walked toward the elevator.

"Stairs," he said abruptly, "the elevator doesn't work anymore unless you pay fifty cents per level."

"Oh. _Great_."

"616, 535, 519, 410, 415, 300, and 501," Inuyasha read, looking over Kagome's schedule. "That's good news,"

"Huh? Why is that good news? It's a lot of rooms I have to go to, right?" she asked hesitantly, giving him a distrustful stare.

"Yeah, but at least your classes are close together," he replied; "far away from the main entrance, sure, but close."

"Yay me," she rolled her eyes, hoping he wasn't lying.

"First, though, you have homeroom; we'll go there first" he said, suddenly turning the closest corner to the right and heading down the hall, easily dodging small groups of students that crowded the halls.

"Homeroom, really?" Kagome said, jogging to keep up, "but I thought I had separate classrooms? Don't American schools use a…block schedule?"

"No, this isn't high school in Japan, stupid," he sneered, glancing at her as she blushed angrily, "_here_ you have seven classes a day, five days a week, and you go to all seven every day in the same order. In case you haven't noticed Michinori is a bit different from regular schools, and colleges for that matter, because they try to incorporate as many different 'customs' as possible; although since the founder is Japanese, it's mostly influenced by Japanese design—which is why most of the population _is_ Japanese—and it just has an American twist to it because of its location. Anyway, though, homeroom is an hour and fifteen minutes long and the rest last an hour. Which means since our classes start at noon—twelve o'clock sharp—we'll be here roughly until seven-forty. After your fourth hour they serve a kind of dinner in the cafeteria for thirty-five minutes and I suggest you get there fast if you plan on eating anything. Or just wait the last couple hours until you get home if you can handle it."

"Uh-huh," Kagome said, gasping to keep up. She couldn't believe he was actually telling her these things; the most she had expected was a quick, pointless tour through the college which she wouldn't remember and after which would only end up late to all her classes anyway. But it seemed instead he was actually going to help even if he didn't want to. This fact, though a small one, made her impression of Inuyasha improve—if by the tiniest margin.

"Hey, idiot," he said, pulling Kagome from her reverie as he shoved a piece of paper under her nose. "_That_ is a map of the school," he said as she took it from him. "Your classes are all in this area," he added, pointing at one side of the paper before sliding it a small distance to a different spot as he continued speaking, "except for your fifth period, room 300, which is over here. Since you've got a break between fourth and fifth you'll have plenty of time to find it but because Sango will kill me if I don't, I'll just show you where it is."

Most of his words were lost to her as Kagome couldn't help but notice the sharp points of his nails and, paying more attention to the perilous tips than his words, nearly jumped out of her skin as a high-pitched ringing sound reverberated through the halls. Students standing about talking leapt into action, running into nearby rooms until only a few remained; those few obviously busy in an occupation similar to Inuyasha and Kagome's. By the time a second, quieter bell rang the halls were virtually empty and all doors closed, and Kagome stared wide-eyed at the emptiness.

"That's another thing," Inuyasha said suddenly, his voice much louder in the near silent halls. "When the bell rings, you'd better be in class or you're out of luck. If you're running to the doors they'll let you in, but you'd better be booking it or you've got an absentee listing on your class report."

"Harsh," Kagome blurted, glancing into the windows of a nearby classroom.

"You've got six minutes between classes to get there, though, so it's really no big deal." Inuyasha shrugged. "Here, this is your first period."

Glancing up at the door marked 616; she read the brief description of the class and frowned, glancing at her schedule in confusion.

"Philology?" she said, "what's that? I don't remember signing up for it."

"Philology, the study of languages, their structure, and origin," Inuyasha replied, reading from her paper before elaborating helpfully, "All freshmen have to take the class if they're from another country or don't know English all that well; basically though it's just a class where the teacher helps you re-learn English so you're not panicking during your classes—they just give it a fancy name to make it look good. The first week professors or teachers will try and make sure all students know what they're doing but after that you'd better be fluent in American or you're toast."

"Oh, cool." Kagome said sincerely, feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. After all, English had been one of her worries and now that she knew she'd be taking a class to help her in that subject, she felt quite a bit better.

"Right," he said, "next."

As the pair walked the halls of Michinori College, Kagome was increasingly surprised by Inuyasha's cooperation as he told her about her classes and college. Though he could have toned down the insults of "stupid" and "wench", she was beginning to feel a lot better about the new experience she would be having. He'd even had her find her own classes after they'd finished, and soon the college wasn't so confusing anymore. Sure she'd probably panic when she had to go to a completely different wing for her next semester, but at any rate she was getting the hang of things. At least for a few minutes, since coming to America, Kagome was finally truly composed. Perhaps things wouldn't be so bad after all.

Kagome took one step into the cafeteria and immediately turned and left, an embarrassed blush creeping rapidly over her features as she walked quickly outside the building and over to a tree where she dumped her backpack and plopped down to the ground, her back against the trunk. She'd never been great at making friends; sure she'd talk to people often enough, but her high school friends Eri, Ayumi and Yuka had all found her. Now being in a completely different country she wasn't sure she'd find any, well, "school friends"; sure she already had Sango and Miroku…and Inuyasha…for "real" friends, but as far as she knew only Inuyasha had afternoon classes which meant she had nobody to hang out with during the break for food. Not to mention she'd been completely embarrassed all day, especially when she realized just how weak her English had become. Sure, she'd been given papers written in Japanese so she would understand, but when the class laughed at a joke she was forced to pretend to understand and give a fake giggle so as not to be the one left out—which only made her feel stupid and shrink into herself. She used to have plenty of confidence, but where had it all gone?

Unzipping and reaching into her backpack, she pulled out a bento box and a pair of chopsticks and, with burning cheeks, began to eat.

She'd only managed to take a few bites when she heard footsteps behind her and she soon realized that they were heading in her direction. Hoping whoever it was wasn't actually coming to talk to _her_, she focused all her attention on her food in a fervent wish that they would simply pass her by. When the steps stopped next to her, however, she tore her eyes reluctantly away to look up at her visitor.

He was taller than her, and clearly Japanese, with dark brown hair and reddish brown eyes and fair skin. The long wavy locks of his hair were pulled back in a loose ponytail that reached halfway down his back. His deep purple pressed suit looked like something Kagome expected Miroku to wear, that had a dark blue button-up undershirt and black tie underneath the pristine jacket. He wore a strange, almost but not quite condescending smile on his face and stood with his hands in his pants pockets, watching her.

"U-Um, h—haro?" Kagome stammered, blushing at her incompetence.

"Hello," he replied in smooth, perfect English, his smile widening slightly as he continued in Japanese, "My name is Naraku; you are Kagome, correct?"

"Y-yeah," she nodded.

"Good, because I have a question for you," he said crouching down next to her.

"Wh-what is it?" Kagome said, blushing furiously.

"I wonder, why is a pretty girl like you sitting all alone in a place like this?" he asked and Kagome was sure her head would explode with discomfiture. It wasn't as though she'd never been complimented similarly before, in fact it was quite the opposite; she had constantly been told how "cute" she was by people. But being told that by a college student was completely different somehow and she was positive it had something to do with his obvious maturity. That and he was a _very_ handsome man.

"Well, um, I just didn't want to eat in the cafeteria is all—I mean, it's so nice outside and I've been in stuffy classrooms so long I decided it was time for some fresh air," she knew she was rambling slightly, but she just couldn't seem to help herself.

"But you're all alone! Come now, you can't possibly expect me to believe you haven't made any _friends_?" Naraku grinned.

"No, I've got some friends; it's just only one of them has afternoon classes and I don't think he really wants to hang out with _me_," she laughed lightly, "we're not on the best of terms."

"That's hard to believe," he said, "unless…."

"Unless what?"

"Unless that certain individual just happens to be one Inuyasha," Naraku finished, spitting the name as though it were a vile acid.

"H-how'd you know?" she gasped, slightly disconcerted.

"I've been acquainted with Inuyasha for some time, unfortunately, and he and I are also on unfriendly terms; you could say we're constantly 'at each other's throats', if you know what I mean," he replied, and something about the way he said it put Kagome on alert. She wasn't sure why but it seemed as though Naraku's aura had gotten a great deal more ominous at the mention of Inuyasha, and somehow his use of the words that the two of them were "constantly at each other's throats" seemed a lot more literal than it was usually intended to be.

"Yeah he can be a bit of a jerk," she said nervously. "So, Naraku, um, what do you like to do in your free time?" she asked lamely, attempting to change the subject and rid the atmosphere of the dark feeling it had acquired.

"Me?" he smirked, getting to his feet, "I like to plot ways to slay my wretched sister and get her business under my control," Kagome stared at him wide-eyed, her shoulders jumping when he laughed.

"Just kidding," he said, but for some reason Kagome didn't believe him and had the strange urge that if she didn't find a way to leave just then, she'd be in a load of trouble—trouble too deep to get out of unscathed.

Inuyasha only needed to glance once at the cafeteria to know for a fact that Kagome was nowhere near the dense crowds within and he growled irritably as he turned to find her, glaring menacingly at the students who tried to push him out of the way as he left. Normally he wouldn't care less where she was—after all he'd hardly known her three days and didn't much like her—but it seemed as though everyone was intent on making him her babysitter. First, Chiaki tells him to keep an eye on her, and then Sango calls threatening to exterminate him if he didn't and he had to wonder when exactly he had become Kagome's keeper. If he hadn't been so sure Sango would act on her threat, he would have let things be; but Miroku's psychotic girlfriend was a frightful force when angry, and actually doing the job was much more appealing than receiving the consequences.

He'd hardly left the smell of cafeteria food behind when his sensitive nose caught on to Kagome's scent and quickly followed it down a hallway and towards an exit. When he stepped into the dimming light of evening outside the college, his senses went on high alert as another distinctive odor mingled with Kagome's, the hair on the back of his neck rising when he realized that the familiar had followed Kagome. Searching wildly for her, hoping she was close by, he quickly caught sight of her banana-yellow backpack and the girl herself sitting with her back against a tree. However any relief he felt dissipated as he also saw the maker of the second scent standing next to her, and quickly noted the wary, frightened look on Kagome's face as she looked up at her visitor.

Stifling an angry growl he immediately stalked their way, closing the distance until he was close enough to grab Naraku by the arm and roughly yank him away from Kagome to step between them.

"Ah, Inuyasha," Naraku said calmly, seemingly undisturbed by the hanyou's sudden appearance. "We were just talking about you."

"Fantastic, now take off dipshit," Inuyasha growled wrathfully, gesturing toward the college.

"Now is that any way to treat an old friend?" Naraku asked, his face assuming a hurt expression before evolving into a smile, and all Inuyasha wanted to do right then was permanently wipe the condescending grin from the monster's face.

"'old friend' my ass; stay the fucking _hell_ away from Kagome," Inuyasha snapped, barely restraining himself from getting rid of Naraku right then, taking a threatening step forward instead to silently announce his underlying intention.

Sighing his understanding of the warning, Naraku reluctantly retreated backwards a few steps before turning away, "very well, if that's what you want, it was nice to meet you, Kagome."

"Y-yeah," Kagome muttered behind him, causing Inuyasha to grit his teeth.

The irate hanyou watched the creature leave and once he had disappeared into the college he turned to face Kagome who was busy staring at her bento. Her face from what he could see was a bright shade of tomato red that contrasted pleasantly with her fair skin but was offset disturbingly by the subtle trembling of her hands. Had something happened before he got here?

"Hey," he asked, walking in front of her to face her directly, "did he say anything or…do anything…to you?"

"Huh? What? Oh, no," she stammered, glancing up at him briefly, "we just talked for about thirty seconds before you arrived and chased him away."

Did he sense a hint of _resentment_ in her tone, or was his mind playing tricks on him? Really, he'd thought she'd been _afraid_ of him considering the look on her face before he'd intervened, and the aftermath of her shaking hands he'd thought had been a confirmation of that, but then again maybe he was wrong. Maybe what he'd seen was a look of adoration and not fear. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Thank you, Inuyasha," she said before he could get anything out, effectively cutting him off with the clicking of his teeth as they came together.

"What?" he said after a moment's pause, unsure whether he'd heard her right.

"Thanks for making him leave," she clarified, bending further over her bento, "he was really starting to creep me out, to be honest. Just thinking about it all sends shivers down my spine."

"Oh," he said, blinking.

An uncomfortable silence pursued his words and he shifted from side to side waiting for something to smash the stillness; however when it finally came he willed the silence to continue as the breaker consisted of his stomach making a loud gurgling noise, his willfulness drowned out in Kagome's convulsive sniggering.

"Look," he said, "it's going to get cold soon anyway so let's just go back inside and I can get something to eat. Sound alright with you, Miss Giggles?"

"Sure,"

_Author's Note_

_Yeah I know it's been a while, five months I think, two of which I've spent writing this very difficult chapter, and I'm sorry for the lateness. I haven't necessarily been busy, although that's part of it. I'm still looking for a job, so that's taking up some time, but overall I've had plenty of chances to write. I just haven't._

_This chapter by far has given me the most trouble mainly because of the content and what it should include. It took me a week to write the first part, then three more to write the second part, and a whole month to write the rest, and during all that time I was constantly deleting and re-writing part after part...so eventually I got to this part and now here is chapter nine. Finally._

_No promises that chapter ten will come soon. None indeed. I've learned my lesson._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten:**

**Underhanded Plots**

"Now is that any way to treat an old friend?" Naraku asked mocking hurt then grinning wickedly at the hanyou bastard, savoring every second of the half-breed's noticeable anger.

"'Old friend' my ass, stay the fucking _hell_ away from Kagome," the white-haired creature snapped, and it took a considerable quantity of effort on Naraku's part not to laugh at "Inuyasha's" internal struggle between whether he ought to tear his senior apart or leave him be.

The hanyou took a threatening step toward Naraku, more clearly announcing his intentions, and Naraku sighed his defeat, slowly retreating a few steps before turning his back completely on the hanyou. "Very well, if that's what you want, it was nice to meet you, Kagome," he said as he headed back toward the college building.

Only vaguely did he hear the young woman's answering "Y-yeah" before he disappeared completely into the red brick walls of Michinori College, pausing just inside the glass doors. The halls in every direction were empty, including the few classrooms nearby, and dead silent. Cafeteria sounds hardly reached his ears as he pulled a hand from his pocket and lifted it to eye level to examine the sharpening nails. Tightening his hand into a fist, the joints popping in his fingers, Naraku slipped it back into his pocket before striding purposefully down the hall. He continued walking, twisting and turning down passages, until he reached room 219.

With a vile taste in his mouth and a sneer on his face, Naraku wrenched the door open to reveal an empty classroom occupied only by row upon row of inclined student's desks and a teacher's work table at the head of the room, placed strategically in front of rotating blackboards, and covered in a multitude of papers and a globe of the world. Windows lining the far upper wall showed a slowly darkening sky gradually filling with gray clouds, announcing the intention of a rainy night. The only life in the room consisted of a small potted plant on one of the windowsills and a young woman working busily on a computer in one corner of the room.

As the door banged shut behind Naraku the young woman looked up and glared at him with red eyes, her short dark brown bangs whipping violently about her fair face. She stood from her chair and faced him directly, small white feathers in the upright ponytail high upon her head waving agitatedly in a sudden, windowless breeze.

"Naraku," she said stiffly, smoothing her small black skirt, "To what do I owe the honor of your presence?"

"I've found her, the one she's been searching for," he replied furiously, striding forward and slapping the young woman across the face. "And don't you dare speak to me that way! You seem to have forgotten once again that the life of your sister is in my hands; disobey me and she _will_ die."

Her beaded earrings slapping her cheeks, the red-eyed woman whipped her head forward again and glowered at Naraku, her head slowly but surely bowing in sore deference as she acknowledged his words. "Of course; my apologies _Master_ Naraku," she said in a more mild tone, only slight contempt tinting her voice at the title.

Dismissing her minor attitude, to the woman's lax relief, Naraku turned to face the inclined desks and clasped his hands behind his back. Inside he boiled like a fiery volcano, but all outward appearances gave him the quality of someone completely at ease, if somewhat aggravated around the eyes and mouth. He was silent a while as he debated his position, staring blankly at the back of the classroom.

The woman fidgeted nervously, playing with the beads of her earrings with one hand and tugging at the hem of her close fitting, buttoned jacket with the other.

"Kagura," he said, and the red-eyed girl stiffened.

"What is it?" she asked warily.

"That girl must die," he said then added quickly, "but not yet. She has to know the one she's been searching for is here, on her own terms, and she must meet her, get to know her, and meanwhile you will do the same. Only when things are at their calmest will I put my plan into motion, and once that is complete you will be free and you will have your sister back. As soon as you have disposed of her, she too will die, and I will be the official owner of her most precious possession."

Kagura quietly cleared her throat, "and how am I to know who the girl is and do as you say?"

"That is simple," he chuckled, "she is in your final class, and her name is Kagome. Higurashi Kagome."

Kagura's heart rate skyrocketed when the final bell announcing the beginning of sixth period wound down to a distant echo in the halls, and she slowly picked up her roster and stood at the head of the class behind her work desk, glancing over the faces of all of her students. She recognized many of them, and she nodded at the familiar faces that smiled her way; the minority being new students, freshmen, with darting eyes and bowed heads. She allowed the pressurized silence to stand as she glanced over her class roster, looking through the names until she found the one she was searching for and knew Naraku had been right.

Swallowing and taking in a slow, deep breath, Kagura addressed her students.

"Good evening class," she began, the words merely falling from her mouth without thought. She'd given the same speech five times that day and knew it by, well, by heart. She could say it in her sleep if she wanted to, and probably would. "My name is Miss Kagura Kaze, but you can just call me Kagura or, if you're the proper type, Miss Kagura. Some of you I recognize, and some of you I do not. So, while I call attendance simply say 'here' if you are present and be silent. For those of you I do not know I do not tolerate roughhousing when I am speaking, so do not attempt it. And without further ado: Akiho, Shou."

As she went down the list the classroom was filled with the sounds of names and their accompanying "here's" with the occasional silence interjected between one name and another, and during the time Kagura dreaded the name that was quickly drawing near. When she came to it, she almost skipped over it and let the student fix the "mistake", but knowing that the girl was a fresh student she decided not to make her life more stressful by not calling her name, so Kagura simply resolved to say it and move on.

"Higurashi, Kagome," she stated, and looked up for the reply.

A young, fair-skinned girl with long brown hair and puppy eyes answered the name nervously, her cheeks pinking at the mispronunciation of her response. She was clearly Japanese, like most of the students, though a bit worse for wear on her English speaking skills; more likely than not she would end up remaining in Ayame's philology class much longer than the other students. But how this girl could be any threat to Naraku was beyond her; he could snap her in two like a twig if he wanted to, most people in the room could including herself, but if Naraku wanted her watched, watched she would be. Kanna's life depended on it.

Realizing she'd paused slightly too long Kagura read the last name and suddenly her heart was in her throat.

"Inuyasha,"

The white-haired hanyou replied with a gruff "here" from his place next to Kagome, leaning casually back in his chair. Kagura set the roster back on the desk with shaky fingers; not from fear, of course, she had nothing to fear of a half-breed; instead she shook with frustration. It was obvious the two were friendly; the girl started whispering to him immediately and when he didn't retort with words that would silence her Kagura knew her job had gotten a lot worse. With Inuyasha accompanying the girl it would be much harder to get close to Kagome, a fact Naraku had failed to inform her about.

To cover up her approaching unease, Kagura swiftly passed out the syllabi announcing the rules of her class then stood in front of the students again to begin her lecture on the class rules and what she expected of them. While she spoke she couldn't help but think about her predicament, trying to come up with a plan to sneak past Inuyasha to get to her objective at the same time, but no matter how many scenarios she came up with none seemed to fit. She quickly gave up and decided instead to simply go with the flow of things. If the opportunity arose she'd talk to Kagome and if it didn't she'd make an opportunity. She was a teacher after all; she was bound to come up with something eventually.

"Kouga," a slim woman called from her place atop a pile of pink and red pillows, her blood-colored lips glinting in the dim light radiating from the small blue lamp placed at the opposite side of the room. In the little light all that could be seen of her were the pale glow of her skin and the waves of her long black hair spread out like a fan around her. She wore blue robes that glittered with stars and a pink sash wrapped around her waist. Poised like a queen on her throne, she sipped violet wine from a golden cup inlaid with rubies and emeralds.

In front of her, across a blazing carpet that illustrated the phases of the moon, was a gleaming paper door that slid easily to the side, allowing a man in a pressed black suit to walk through. He was tall and handsome with ice blue eyes that gazed malevolently at the woman across from him. His long, dark brown hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and swished from side to side as he walked, much like the dark brown tail protruding from beneath his jacket—a thing normally hidden by protective charms and spells.

"What?" he snapped, long white fangs flashing in the little light.

The woman smiled, "she's here, I can feel it, the one I've been waiting for all this time, the one who'll take my place."

"You're sure this time?" Kouga asked, intrigued and hating himself for it.

She nodded, "of course I am, do you really think I'd make the same mistake twice? This one is pure and will not be as easily manipulated as _she_ was."

"Very well, what do you want me to do? Bring her here?"

With her long hair rustling, the woman shook her head in the negative. "No; she's here, but I don't know where; her spirit evades me, sly thing. What I want you to do is pay attention, find her. She'll be new, confused, and she won't know about us. Look for one similar to _her_, and when you find her bring her to me."

"As you say," Kouga said, bowed, and turned to leave.

"Do not disappoint me, Kouga; my time is running out, and I want her found _before_ it's too late. Fail in _this_, and you _will_ regret it."

Without reply Kouga walked out of the room and into the hallway beyond, trying to maintain control of his temper as he debated his next move. First, of course, he had to find the girl, which would be the hard part, then bring her here, which would be easy, especially if the woman was right and the girl really didn't know about his kind. That way all he would have to do is swoop down, pick her up and take her back here. As long as she didn't struggle he'd be back here and free in no time.

Glaring at the pair of suited guards that stood at the exit, Kouga left the grounds and entered into his car a few feet away. As he drove off, he smiled. This would be easier than murder.


End file.
